


Lost and Alone

by kittyface27



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL, Alternate Universe, Angst, Cannon Divergent, Depression, Dragons, Drama, Fantasy, Garp and some Ace bashing, Gen, Monsters, Other Worlds, Shanks - Freeform, children characters - Freeform, garp is abusive, mental health, other dimensions, shanks is the best dad honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-05-19 06:46:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19351627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyface27/pseuds/kittyface27
Summary: When Luffy gets into some trouble, like usual, he's thrust into another world, and into a different Luffy's body. Everyone thinks he's crazy now, since he has no clue as to who anyone or where he is. Lost and alone, his mental health plummets, as he wants to go home and just CAN'T.





	1. Where Am I? Who Are You?

**Jeez I am just pumping out stories! I'm still updating my other ones, but here's one more. I used to write only angst, and then I went to fluff, but here we are, back to angst! And another children characters story. I just love writing those! The world Luffy came from is explained in a bit more detail in the later chapters. Might be slight OOC Garp later on. But you gotta love Shanks. Enjoy~**

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**Song: Still I Fly (I think it's from that Planes movie)**

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"Luffy, you shouldn't sit by the edge," Zoro said, sitting next to his young friend, towering over him. The human child was small compared to all of the other beasts. "We don't know what happens when humans fall in." Zoro frowned as well as he could with his long snout when Luffy didn't even seem to be listening. Why did they have a prince with the attention span of a fly?

"Don't worry about it. I won't fall in," the child replied. "Plus, you'll save me." Zoro sighed, staring down at the lake from the cliff a safe distance away. He was right, Zoro would save him if he fell in, but no one knew if it would be the same for a human as it was for the beasts. Luffy had came from the lake as a baby, which made him where he was in social status.

Humans could communicate with all the types of beasts, and when not around other humans, most were kind and good. It had been over two hundred years since the last human, who stopped a war with the other dimensions. So, humans were regarded highly, even if they weren't natural to this world.

And humans were extremely rare to come from the lake. Other beasts would come and go, traveling in between the dimensions peacefully. But, no one knew where Luffy had come from. He just floated up to the top one day, bare and too young to even open his eyes.

The beasts had raised him as best as they could. It was really trial and error, but it worked and Luffy was now seven. Though his guards/friends had to wonder how he'd survived, being so simple minded so much and  _always_ getting into trouble and endangering himself. He trusted his friends too much, that he disregarded his own safety for doing reckless things.

Like right now, sitting so close to the edge and swinging his legs. "I'll be fine! Don't worry so much. Besides, I came from there. It's not like it'll kill me," Luffy reasoned. Then his stomach growled loudly, and he shot up, running back to the manor, wondering out loud what was for dinner. Zoro trotted after him, barely needing to run with Luffy being so much smaller than him. Than everyone, really.

-x-

Later that night, Luffy was sitting in bed. Not sleeping, sitting. He wished he could go in the lake and travel with the other beasts. He wished he could see what they saw and go where they go. Sanji had told him once that his cooks get a lot of their food from other worlds, that were plentiful with different types of foods. Foreign fruits and vegetables that didn't grow in their home world.

Luffy stood up, deciding he'd go out to the lake and look in it at night, where you can see glimmers from the other worlds, shimmering in the surface. He brought a blanket with him, since it was cold out and he might just choose to sleep out there, listening to the bubbling of the lake.

It wasn't hard sneaking out. He just crawled under his bed and into the stone passages that the servants traveled through. There was an outlet he'd found where the water from the roof flows through. It let out into the bushes not far from the treeline of the property.

He was glad he brought the blanket, because it really was cold outside. The human child wandered through the trees that separated the lake from the manor, pulling the blanket through the twigs and bushes.

When he came out to the clearing, he smiled at the light emanating from the water. Sitting in the same spot he had that afternoon, he looked down into the water. He saw trees, then some stars and planets, and then a little village of small houses. It looked like some of the towns he visited when he rode on Zoro to other parts of the country.

There were windmills that turned in the wind. It looked like a nice place. A little bland and simple. It looked too sleepy for his taste. But then he saw someone run past. On human legs. He gasped and leaned forward, watching as the image faded.

He pouted, and waited for another image to come from the same place, but none came. He swore he saw human legs. Wearing sandals. He frowned, and stood up to spread out the blanket, laying his head nearest to the edge so the light of the water would filter through his eyelids. The blanket wrapped around him.

Everyone was gonna be so mad in the morning. He snuck out without permission in the middle of the night to a place he was never allowed to go to alone. He fell asleep easily to the soft bubbling of the water below him.

When he woke up, it was early morning, and he stood up and went sprinting back to the manor, but was caught red handed by Zoro, who was staring at him angrily from the treeline. Luffy hadn't even made it out of the woods before he was caught.

"Hi, Zoro!" the child said happily, though he knew he was in trouble. "I didn't fall in!"

Zoro picked him up from the scruff of his shirt and tossed him into his room through the open window. "Stay!" he commanded, and left to go get mother, probably. But Luffy, not knowing his own good, jumped back out of the window and ran back to the lake, laughing the whole way. It was funny making Zoro mad. Smoke billowed out of his nostrils and he couldn't control it and it stung his eyes.

The human child was barefoot, and skidded across the surface of the rocks, but caught himself before he fell over the edge. "Whoa!" he said as he teetered on the edge. But then he saw the flash of bare feet. Human feet, he knew it. The toes flexed, and Luffy leaned forward. The image began to blur again. "No, wait!" he cried, wanting to see more of whatever world that one was.

He leaned forward, and threw his hands up in the air in irritation. But it knocked him off balance and he barely even made a sound before he fell into the water with a quiet splash.

-x-

Luffy's eyes snapped open. He was in a bed, a soft one. Was it all a dream? Phew! Everyone would be so mad if he fell into the water. He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes, looking around to open the curtains to make the room brighter. Sunlight was always better than the lamp. Especially in the morning.

He threw the red curtains open and stared wide eyed outside. What the hell? Where was he?! Wait, he was in that boring town he saw. "Zoro?" he called, voice shaking. Suddenly, he wanted to go back home. He was wearing clothes he didn't remember putting on. This room was a complete mess. Unfamiliar clothing was strewn across the room, with toys scattered around as well.

There was no answer. "How do I get back?!" he cried, running out of the small house. There was no one in there with him. Sanji always said there was a way to get back. A portal that was always above where you ended up.

But when Luffy looked up, all there was was a blue sky. "Oh no…" he whispered. There was no way back! He sprinted away, the blades of grass tickling between his bare toes. All there was was the tiny town and then fields of wheat. He recognized almost everything he saw as something he'd seen.

It looked like his world. Maybe he was sent to some area other than where he usually lived. But that theory was shot down when Luffy saw another human. It was a big one, and he couldn't help but stare at him. He came out of his yard, and then looked at the house Luffy had come out of, with the front door wide open. The man looked concerned, and went inside.

He heard his name being called from the open door and windows. The man obviously didn't see the boy, and started calling his name in panic. How did this human know his name? Luffy hid in the field, crouching down, before he slowly walked backwards.

How did he talk to another human? He'd never seen one before! He started to breathe heavily and quickly. He looked at his hands, which were completely smooth. He had no scars or markings on it. And come to think of it, his whole body felt strange. Lighter. It felt like he'd lost a ton of his body weight. He joined his hands to try and calm down, but his fingers felt strange. He pulled slightly, and they  _stretched._ He screamed.

He fell on his butt in the wheat, and pulled on his toes, and those stretched too. "What the hell is this?!" he screamed again, frozen in place. He heard the man hurrying towards him. He'd made a lot of noise, hadn't he?

He stood up and ran away from the man. Where was he? What would he do now? He was scared. He didn't even notice he was running towards another house until another human hurried out, having heard the boy's screaming.

"Luffy? What's wrong?" she asked, Luffy looked around.

"Who- who're you? Where am I?!" he cried out. She looked at him in concern. Was he acting strange? How did these humans know him? Was this all some sort of illusion? These people were just his imagination? But then, how did he know what they looked like? He'd never seen any human before, only himself as a child. How would he fill out all of the details, like the wrinkles on the woman's face. Or the hair on the first man's face as he walked behind the boy.

"Luffy, what's wrong?" he asked in true concern.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" the boy asked in panic. He tripped as he walked backwards from the humans. Then he got up and ran. Towards the forest, which was the only thing that looked relatively familiar. Maybe his home was back in the forest.

"No, Luffy! Don't go in there alone!" But Luffy kept running until he made it into the forest with the huge trees. But, almost the moment he was in there, there was a large… thing. It was big, with feathers. And it dived at him.

"No, get away from me!" he shouted, hitting the thing in the face. It didn't like this and grabbed the boy's arm with sharp feet. He was tossed through the air out of the forest, but wasn't hurt when he landed, other than a few scrapes from the thing's talons.

He ran from the forest, and toward the little houses. Were there more humans there? And he was hungry, suddenly extremely hungry. More than he had ever been before, and his stomach hurt.

As he ran through the empty field, he heard " _Damn it Luffy!"_ from next to him. He saw a green shadow go past him. " _What did you do now?!"_

"Zoro?! Zoro, help me!" Luffy called, but the shadow and voice were gone. "Zoro, come back! Where am I?"

He wasn't even paying attention when a bunch of people came running towards him, seeing the boy they seemed to recognize shouting at nothing. A red haired human pushed his way through the small crowd.

"Oi, Luffy. Are you alright?" he asked. Luffy couldn't have possibly had the imagination to make the scars over the red haired guy's eye. "What's wrong?" he asked in true concern.

"Where am I? How do you know me?" Luffy said as he backed away. When the man stepped towards him, a worried frown on his face, Luffy looked around in panic and held up a big stick behind him. "G-Get away from me!" he shouted as he pointed the branch at the still approaching man, using it as a weapon, even though his strange hands shook. "Wh- what's wrong with my body? Why does it stretch?!"

The human stopped moving towards him, putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "My name is Shanks, and you're in Foosha village. I know you from a couple months ago, when we met in Makino's bar. You tried to take my hat. Your body stretches because you ate a devil fruit that turned you into rubber," he said calmly.

"What's a devil fruit? What's rubber? What's going on?!" Luffy was still panicking. Shanks looked very concerned now. Luffy had no clue what was going on. Something was very wrong. He started walking towards the boy again, and Luffy saw the glint of metal on his waist. Something sharp was attached to his hips.

"Stay away!" Luffy warned.

"Luffy, you need to calm down. Why don't you come down to the bar and we can try and figure out what's wrong. Makino can make you some breakfast. I can hear your stomach rumbling all the way from over here. I'll explain devil fruits and rubber to you there. How about that?" the man said with an easy going smile, trying to hide the concern from his expression.

Luffy's stomach rumbled and hurt again, so he slowly walked around the person, still pointing the stick at him. "T-Take me there," Luffy said, trying to sound threatening, but really just coming across as terrified.

Shanks nodded his head, shooing away the others in the crowd. A colorful bunch of people, in all shapes and sizes. "Alright, I'll take you there."

Luffy followed from a distance, looking around him frantically, trying to see Zoro again. Or someone else he knew. But there was no one, and he heard nothing but the wind and crunching sound as he walked over twigs and dry grass. Shouldn't those things hurt his feet? And what was rubber?

They ended up on a street, with little shops on one side and the coast on another. More humans were around, looking at Luffy in concern but leaving when Shanks gave them a look that told them to back off, but not in a threatening way.

Luffy was led to a building that had some sort of writing on a sign above it. Luffy couldn't read it at all. From what he saw in it, it was some kind of restaurant. Shanks lead him forward, and through the swinging door.

Luffy slowly pushed the swinging door inward, and entered the establishment. The floor was wooden, and the interior looked familiar. He'd never seen it before, but it looked like the dining area of the manor.

Shanks sat on a seat on one end of the bar counter, while Luffy sat on the other. Shanks saw him eyeing his swords in a guarded way, so he unhooked them from his belt and walked to the corner of the bar, setting them against the wall and then walking back to the counter without them. Luffy lowered the stick and set it on his lap.

A human with long hair that was clearly different from Shanks and looked much different from the other human woman, came out of the side room, smiling at Luffy brightly. Before she could speak, Shanks said, "Makino, could you please get Luffy some food?" he asked in an overly friendly voice. Makino looked at him with a confused from, but he gave her a look that made her smile simply. Like nothing was wrong.

"Luffy, you asked what a devil fruit is, and what rubber is, correct?" Shanks asked, not making eye contact and looking at the bar counter. He didn't want to put pressure on the boy, which something was obviously wrong with.

"Yeah."

"Devil fruits give you special powers when you eat one. But, after eating one, you can't swim again," Shanks said.

"Like magic?"

"Yeah. And rubber is a substance that can stretch and lengthen. It also absorbs impact, so falling or being hit won't affect you," the man explained. Makino looked very confused, but just made Luffy the sandwiches. After eating the devil fruit, he ate a lot more than before, so Makino made big servings.

"Are you two humans?" Luffy asked, still on guard.

"Yeah…" Shanks said, thoroughly confused and for once having no clue what to do.

"Why does this one look different than you?" Luffy questioned, pointing at Makino. The woman looked blown away. Luffy was acting so weird; something was very wrong. Shanks cleared his face again. He didn't want to make Luffy think something was wrong with him, since it might just make him panic again and run off, where Shanks would have to chase him for his own safety, as he didn't seem to have a cue as what anything was.

"Makino is a woman, and I am a man. You are a boy, and will grow up to be a man, like me," Shanks replied. He honestly couldn't be anything but impressed on how well he was handing this despite how freaked out he was inside.

"Did something happen this morning? Something different?" Shanks asked after Luffy's expression wandered for a moment, like he'd never heard the terms "man" or "woman".

"Zoro told me not to, but I fell into the lake and I woke up in this house that I've never seen before and I can't find a way to get back," Luffy said hurriedly. His mouth watered when he was presented with the large sandwich. It looked like food Sanji cooked, so he slowly ate it. Then he scarfed the whole thing down in record time, still hungry for more. "How can I still be hungry?"

"Who is Zoro? What lake?" Shanks asked, finally thinking he'd get some answers, since nothing Luffy has said so far answered any of Shanks immediate questions.

"Zoro is my friend and guard. I slept out by the lake last night, but nothing happened and then when I snuck back to the manor he caught me. Then I went back to the lake and I fell in and now I'm here. I heard him in the field but then he left and hasn't come back."

He sounded utterly crazy. He had admitted to hearing voices outside. And neither adult had ever heard the name Zoro before.

"Zoro contacted you? What did he say?" Shanks questioned.

"'What did you do now'," Luffy supplied, silently taking another sandwich from the human woman, Makino. But, after finishing this large one, his stomach finally stopped rumbling.

"Is Zoro a human?" Luffy shook his head.

"I'm the only human."

"You don't have any human family? Do you remember your last name?" Luffy shook his head at the first question, and asked what a last name was at the second. "Your last name is the name your family has. You're last name is 'Monkey'. Your full name is Monkey D. Luffy," Shanks said patiently. Makino had started to sweat behind the bar, extremely concerned for the boy. He had acted fine last night.

"Do you remember the name 'Garp'?" Luffy shook his head. Shanks chewed on his lip, wondering what to do now. But then, some sort of shadow moved across the room.

" _Luffy, where are you?"_ Zoro asked in an echo, but only Luffy could hear.

"Zoro! I'm right here!" he cried out. "Right here!" Luffy shouted, trying to grab the large green shadow, but he couldn't touch it. Then it was gone.

"Luffy, who are you talking to?" Shanks asked.

"You didn't see him? I was talking to Zoro! He just passed right by you!" Luffy shouted, hating this. He knew he must sound crazy to these people, but he wasn't! He was just confused, in a world he had no clue about.

"I didn't see anything. Did you, Makino?" The woman shook her head, gulping. Now she was terrified for Luffy. He was acting mentally ill. Hearing voices in his head and not remembering anything about himself or his life.

But then Zoro came back, and he finally seemed to see Luffy, as he stood right in front of him, somehow fitting into the tavern. Even though Zoro was a blur, the boy could imagine his look of anger. His tail flicked and a glass flew off of the bar. Makino shouted in surprise. To her and Shanks, a glass just flew off of the bar with nothing touching it.

" _Luffy, you fool! What have you done?! I can't even get through enough to touch you!"_

"I don't know, I fell into the lake. There are all these humans who act like they know me and I don't know what to do. Help me!" Luffy said. Zoro sighed, and then faded out into nothing. Tears welled up in Luffy's eyes with a grimace. Zoro couldn't get him, and Luffy couldn't find any return portal. Was he trapped here? For how long?

Shanks had seen a lot in his life on the Grand Line and the New World, but nothing had disturbed him as much as seeing Luffy like this. And the boy was a terrible liar, so he absolutely believed what he was saying was the truth.

"Should I call Garp?" Makino asked softly, still freaked about the glass' sudden movement. Shanks shook his head. Not yet. Garp would not be calm about Luffy acting like this. He'd probably beat the kid into being sane again, if he  _was "_ insane".

When Luffy started sobbing in his seat, hunched over and banging his head against the bar, Makino hurried over and stopped him.

"D- Don't touch me! I don't know you!" he screamed and ran from the tavern, dodging people in his way. He wanted to go home! He ran back to the house he woke up in. Maybe if he went back to bed, he'd wake up at home, and his friends would yell at him for doing stupid things, like normal.

Shanks ran out after him, worried about Luffy's safety while he was in this state. He saw Luffy running back to his house. He was so upset he didn't know Shanks was following, even though his steps were loud and crunching on the dirt path. Luffy slammed the front door that was left open shut behind him, and sprinted up the stairs, burying himself under the blankets and closing his eyes tightly.

_Fall asleep, fall asleep, fall asleep!_

The man who was following him didn't enter the house after the boy entered. He was probably waiting outside, making sure he wouldn't leave.

He lay in bed for hours, wanting Zoro to show up again. Someone he knew. He was lonely, and scared, and desperate. He shouldn't have given all that information away. Shanks and that lady must think he's their Luffy, and that he's gone crazy.

Are they all fake, or is their Luffy real and he just switched with him? Maybe their Luffy is where this Luffy came from. But Zoro was looking for Luffy. Did that mean he had stolen this Luffy's body? Was this body's original Luffy gone? The thought made Luffy feel immensely guilty even though he hadnt done it purposefully. He hoped that wasn't the case.

At lunch time, Luffy's stomach grumbled loudly, and he was ungodly hungry again. He wandered down the stairs, looking around for some sort of kitchen with food in it. It wasn't hard to find as the kitchen was quite large.

He rummaged through the cupboards and refrigerator, and found non-perishable foods, along with fruits. He scarfed down almost all of the food, and then went to explore the rest of the house. He looked through a little window in the front door and saw Shanks was outside still.

The door was unlocked, and Luffy was thankful Shanks hadn't forced his way in. Luffy looked at some books, but they had more pictures in them than of words, which he couldn't decipher at all. It was just strange symbols.

There were pictures of this Luffy's body, as a young child growing up to this age. He had used the bathroom before, so had seen he had the exact same appearance as his other body. There were pictures of him and an older man. In some, Luffy looked happy. In others, he looked scared and miserable.

He wondered who put these picture books together. No one was in this house, and the spare room with another bed had almost nothing in it and the bed was a bit dusty, meaning no one had been sleeping in it for awhile. Did this Luffy have no family to live with? How did he handle the loneliness?

Suddenly, there was a strange noise repeating itself. Luffy looked around for it and then headed towards the sound, finding some sort of creature with two eyes on what looked like stems. He couldn't tell if it was alive.

Luffy pressed down on it. Maybe it would answer if he did that. But, when he pushed it, the stop fell off, but was connected by a cord to the main part of the thing. "Hello?" a man's voice boomed. Luffy "Eep!"ed at the sudden noise.

"H-Hi?" Luffy replied uncertainty. He wondered who it was, but he didn't ask. He'd just seem even more suspicious than he already was. And was very suspicious. It hadn't even been a whole day and now everyone probably thought he was crazy. Great.

If Zoro couldn't reach him, and he found no portal anytime soon, he'd try and act like the other Luffy. If this was all a hallucination brought on by the lake's water. He wished that was the case so badly.

"Luffy! How's my grandson? I heard you're acting strange today," the rough voice said from the communication device. Luffy didn't really know what to reply. He couldn't figure out what the emotion in this man's voice was.

"I-I'm fine, grandfather," Luffy said. Somehow the face of the thing frowned. Did Luffy say something wrong? This was the other Luffy's grandpa, right?

"Grandfather? There definitely is something the matter with you! You never show that much respect!" and then he laughed loudly. The boy didn't know what to say. "Well, I'm concerned. I'll come over. Maybe my Fist of Love will put you back in the right mind set!"

"Fist of love?" Luffy asked quietly. It didn't sound good. This man didn't sound like a nice man to be around, and Luffy didn't want to meet him.

"Of course, boy! I'll beat some sanity into you, like usual. BWAHAHAHA! Then you'll be all back to normal in no time!" Garp laughed in his loud voice.

"What?! What kind of grandpa beats his grandson?!" Luffy shouted angrily, though afraid. He had no doubt this man was serious. Luffy had to get out of there. The face of the creature frowned deeply.

"A good one that ones his grandson to be a strong marine! Don't wimp out on me now, Luffy! I'll be there as soon as I can," Garp said and laughed one more time before the machine went  _clank_  and closed its eyes.

The boy stared at it for a moment, before he picked it up, walked to the front window, and dropped it into the bushes. He didn't want to talk to Garp again. What kind of beating would Luffy get? Shanks had said he was immune to blows, so the man couldn't hurt him, right?

To test it, Luffy walked around the house until he found a hammer. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he brought down the hammer on his arm as hard as he could. It bounced off and flew across the room, knocking down a clock on the wall. He looked at the arm; there was no red mark. It was like it never happened. So surely Garp's punches wouldn't hurt him! Phew!

Luffy ransacked the fridge and cupboards again for dinner, finding some candy in his room under the bed. It was delicious! Sanji had brought sweets from other dimensions back home, but Luffy had never tasted this kind of chocolate. Probably because no one and nothing could go here except Luffy.

He had checked through the hole in the front door to see Shanks was still waiting outside, though there was now another man there, with long hair in a ponytail. Neither had weapons on them, and they just sat there. Luffy could see them talking, but their voices were too quiet for the boy to hear through the door.

When he went to bed, he put the covers over his face, so if he woke up to the same place, he wouldn't know right away. Tomorrow, he'd act like these people's Luffy as best as he could. Act like he knew what was going on, and that today was just a really weird one. He closed his eyes and fell asleep surprisingly quickly.

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**It's 24,000+ words, but only five chapters. Review please! Might be some typos. Anyways, please check out my Family and FAS fic. See you next time!**


	2. Please Take Me Home

 

****Kireeeshima: Luffy sure hopes that, too :(** **

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**Pour on the angst! There's Ace bashing in this, but he was an ass in the anime/manga so it's not** **_too_ ** **surprising. The bandits are also really mean. Enjoy~**

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_Luffy looked around_ _a padded room, full of pillows, and piles upon piles of food. Mostly meat. He looked to the side to see himself lying on the bed, smiling. He was clearly having a good dream. Though, he was wearing clothes Luffy had never seen or worn. That wasn't him._

_That was probably the other Luffy. "Meat…" he mumbled with a grin, before the scene faded and Luffy opened his eyes._

The blankets were still over Luffy's face. He was scared to pull them down. But the suspense was killing him. He pulled them down, his eyes closed. He had gathered the courage to open his eyes. And tears started to pour down his face.

Yesterday hadn't been a vivid dream. Luffy was trapped here until someone came to get him and bring him back home, or he found a portal to go back. Then, he'd never go near that stupid lake ever again.

The boy slowly got off the bed and opened the dressers, looking for clothes. He'd worn pajamas all day yesterday. He put on a shirt with a monkey face on it, which he wasn't sure what it was, and some blue shorts, with the only shoes in the house, which were straw sandals. They werent very comfortable, but that was all there was.

He was almost out of food, so all he had was slices of bread. He ate the whole loaf quickly. When he opened the front door, Shanks and his friend was passed out under a tent that had been made that covered them from the sky, but not the cold.

The slap sounds of the sandals woke them up. Luffy pretended to be extremely sleepy and yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Shanks? What are you doing here?" he asked in a confused voice. The man woke up immediately.

"Hey, Luffy. How're you feeling?" he asked slowly. Luffy knew he was trying to not freak out Luffy in case he was still crazy like yesterday.

Luffy frowned, furrowing his brows. "I don't remember what happened yesterday. I- I can't remember a lot of things!" Luffy shouted in panic. "I don't remember his name," he said and pointed towards Beckman, the other man. He hadnt seen what happened to Luffy yesterday. "What happened to me yesterday?"

Shanks smiled, relieved at thinking Luffy was back to normal. "A lot of things happened yesterday. You didn't recognize anything or anyone, and were talking about strange things. But you're all better now," the man said.

"Grandpa said he's coming to beat me up to make me sane again. Was I crazy?" Luffy asked with wide eyes. Shanks scowled and swore at the old man. What kind of treatment is beating someone who needs help like this?!

"Well, maybe you just had a vivid dream, or ate something that made you hallucinate. Though, the glass flying of the bar counter was a bit unsettling," Shanks added. "Oh, and his name is Beckman. The first mate."

Luffy didn't ask what a first mate was, as he was clearly supposed to know that. "I… I still can't remember a lot of things. Am I still crazy?"

"Well, we'll just have to see what happens today. What is your full name? You had trouble with this yesterday," Shanks said kindly. He really was a nice man, and Luffy liked him a lot.

"Monkey D. Luffy," the boy recited, remembering from yesterday.

"Good! Let's go to the Party Bar and let Makino know you're feeling better today. You remember her right?" Luffy nodded slowly. He walked through the little streets in the simple village and to the tavern he'd been to the day before.

All of Shanks's crew were in there, and grew silent when Luffy entered. The boy looked uncomfortable under all of the strangers' gazes.

"How you feeling, Luffy?" a fat man with a piece of meat on a dagger asked. Luffy shrugged and turned his back to everyone. They frowned and looked to their captain.

"He's feeling better, but seems to have lost some of his memory. Don't know why, but I'm sure we'll figure it out," Shanks said reassuringly, and sat one bar stool away from Luffy, asking for a glass of water. He didn't want to get drunk while Luffy was like this.

Luffy was given orange juice, and thanked Makino. "I'm sorry for however I acted yesterday," he apologized. Makino gave him a soft smile.

"Everyone has bad days," she said nicely, in a motherly voice. He'd only heard that kind of voice from mom back home. She was a nice beast that looked over everyone and especially Luffy. She was the one to raise him, before his friends came along to help in different ways.

Luffy nodded and finished his juice. "I'm gonna go outside," he mumbled, not liking that this lady reminded him of mom. She told him to be careful and not get into trouble. He almost laughed. Could he have gotten into any worse trouble than he already was with this whole nightmare?

He didn't know Shanks was watching from the window, having moved from the counter to the table closest. Luffy looked depressed as he walked away. He headed to the furthest dock and sat down, his legs dangling over the side. His feet didn't touch the water, and he was leaning backwards instead of forwards. So, he was less likely to fall in like this, though Shanks would still supervise.

The bar erupted into questions about Luffy health today, and Shanks told all of them what had happened so far, and how he acted. Everyone became angry when they heard Garp said he'd beat Luffy back to normal. He was a horrible grandfather, and didn't care about Luffy's seemingly wavering mental health at the moment.

"Zoro… I'm sorry," he said quietly. Right after Luffy said his name, Zoro's blurry and transparent green shadow moved next to him, and swirled around him briefly, before sitting down.

" _It seems I can only come here for a few minutes before I'm ejected. Same with Sanji and even Usopp tried. We'll figure out how to get you home. Until then, mom requested that you not let on that you're any different. Not like yesterday,"_ Zoro explained in the echoing voice. Luffy nodded his head, and Zoro faded into nothing.

Luffy balled his fists and set them in his lap. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks. He couldn't be himself here at all. He had to pretend to be someone he'd never met. At least, if that dream was real, the other Luffy whose body he'd snatched was comfortable. That Luffy seemed to be in a lot less stress than the one in the body now.

Luffy spent most of the day sitting somewhere and staring at the ocean. It looked like the one at home, so he imagined he was on the beach at home. The waves were lazy as they splashed against the wooden base keeping the docks up.

Shanks came out a few times to talk to him, but Luffy wasn't much fun talking to. He mostly said "uh huh" or "mmhmm". When he was asked questions, he often didn't answer cause he didn't know what the answer  _was._

"Will you tell me what I've forgotten," Luffy asked quietly when Shanks came to bring him some food made by Makino, who was concerned, but didn't approach Luffy while he was like this. Shanks was handling him well by himself, and she didn't want to jeopardize Luffy's calmness today.

"What do you think you've forgotten?" Shanks asked, not looking at Luffy as the boy ate his grilled cheese sandwich.

"All about the world," Luffy replied.

"About things like the government? Like marines and pirates?" Luffy nodded.

"Well, the marines are a force that is supposed to protect civillaians and enforce 'justice'. But marines are not the good guys over all. They stop criminals, but they also support slavery and murder. They also torture who they see as criminals, brutally. Pirates sail the seas for adventures, or bad ones pillage and fight. You never want to come across bad pirates.

"I'm a pirate, and everyone in the bar are my crew. But we like to think of ourselves as 'good' pirates. If there is such a thing," he chuckled. "We are the kinds of pirates that travel for fun, not for riches. Though riches are nice to have, we value the fun and enjoyable aspects.

"You always say you want to be a pirate. Do you remember that?" the man asked in an even voice. Luffy shook his head.

"Why did I want to be a pirate?"

"You wanted to be the freest person in the world. And go on adventures with friends, like we do. I think it's a wonderful dream. Of course, that might be because that was my dream, too!" Shanks exclaimed and started laughing. Luffy gave a sad smile.

"Do I have any friends?" the boy asked. He had many friends back home, but he only had blurs of Zoro here. He missed them. Shanks sighed.

"Not really. There aren't any boys your age here, and you don't get along with the older ones. But, you have Makino, and us for now. We'll be staying for awhile," Shanks replied. The crew was planning to depart this month, but not with Luffy like this. They'd push it back by at least a month.

"Thanks for being nice to me," Luffy mumbled, looking at the water below him.

"That's what friends are for, right?"

Luffy spent a lot of time with Shanks, who he started to see as a father figure, though he never said it. He learned a lot about this world, but not about his life. He had no memories of the first Luffy in this body. He knew how all the technology worked, since Usopp and his underlings were in charge of going into other worlds and picking up sophisticated equipment.

But, it was three weeks after Luffy arrival that Garp came. Luffy was playing soccer with Shanks's crew in the grassy field behind some of the houses and between the farmers' fields, when the big man approached the group.

"Red Hair! What are you doing here?" Garp called, though with a grin. But, it didn't seem like a kind grin. He was very big, and Luffy ran behind Shanks. This man was the one who said he'd beat Luffy up to make him sane again.

"We're here for a vacation. And spending time with Luffy. He's not well enough for your type of training, Garp," Shanks said in a firm voice. Luffy still wasn't back to normal. He seemed to have fallen into depression, and rarely smiled anymore. The crew did their best to cheer him up, but it was hard when Luffy never told them what made him depressed. He always dodged the question.

"Nonsense! He's strong enough to endure it; he's my grandson after all!" Garp exclaimed with a booming laugh. Luffy cowered behind Shanks's legs. The pirate put his hand on Luffy's head.

"Garp. You can't beat him right now. You shouldn't in the first place, but he's not ready. Don't you care about him?" Shanks asked. To him, it seemed Garp didn't care about Luffy's mental wellbeing, only his physical.

"Don't you sass me boy. I care about my grandchild. That's why I train him. To be a strong marine!" Luffy gulped. Weren't marines the bad guys? Why would other Luffy's grandpa want Luffy to become someone like that?

Then he looked at the ship. It had the seagull on it, the sign of the marines that Shanks had showed him. So, Garp was a bad guy. And he wanted to beat Luffy into being how he used to be. Luffy didn't know how to be the way their Luffy used to be. He had been told he was a very happy child, who angered easily. But this Luffy was quiet, and sad all of the time in this world.

He forgot how to be happy.

Garp came up to Luffy and picked him up and carried him under his arm. Luffy thrashed around, but wasn't let go. "Shanks! Help me!" he cried. Shanks followed Garp and grabbed his arm, giving him a cold look.

"I've told you enough time that you should listen to me. Luffy is not well!" he said in anger. Garp then threatened to do his duty as a marine and bring them in and put in prison. Shanks had to back off from that, but frowned heavily and frustratedly when he watched Garp take Luffy into the forest.

"Ready boy?" Garp asked with a wicked grin. Before Luffy could flee, he was punched in the head, painfully. He cried out and grabbed his head. He was supposed to be immune to punches wasn't he? "No running away! You're weak if you run away!"

But Luffy tried again, only to be hit harder, and then drop kicked. Luffy didn't fight back, as he couldn't control his rubber powers and was uncoordinated. He had never been in a fight before; he was seven! He had lived in a sheltered and safe place for his whole life. How was he supposed to fight back?

Garp got angry at him when Luffy started crying. "You've grown too soft, Luffy! It's that Red Hair's influence! He's weakened you! Well, that won't do."

Luffy was dragged back to the village, bruised and bloodied from his nose and teeth scraping his lip. He cried the whole way. Then, when Garp was back at Luffy's house that night, after Luffy ran to Shanks for comfort after his one sided beat down, the old man announced that Luffy would be leaving Foosha village. The next day.

Luffy had run up to his room and buried himself under the covers. The only thing keeping him sane was Shanks and sometimes Makino. He had cried in his bed. He didn't know where he'd be taken now, and he couldn't fight back.

So, he stood at the edge of the forest, saying goodbye to Shanks and his crew. He didn't let Garp see his face from behind, for he'd probably hit him painfully for it, but his face was splotchy red and tears were in his eyes, lips pressed together tightly so he didn't whimper.

Shanks smiled at him sadly, and gave him a hug. Luffy probably wouldn't be getting physical affection wherever Garp was taking him. "I'll see you again Luffy. In the future. Until then, I want you to wear my treasure. But make sure to bring it back some day."

Luffy wanted to push it away. He wasn't Shanks's Luffy, and what if the hat disappears when Luffy finally goes home? And he sincerely hoped he'd never see Shanks in the future. He wanted to go home. But, he took the straw hat with a single, quiet sniffle and set it on his head. It was much too big for him, but it stayed on. All he did was nod in goodbye.

The walk through the forest was quiet as Luffy walked behind Garp, his face a blank mask. He just looked tired. So tired. His feet dragged slightly, even though he'd slept last night. He wanted to go back to the Party Bar and be with Shanks and Makino. Where was he going? He didn't ask, though, and Garp hadn't told him.

After a while of walking, they reached a clearing with a run down hut in the middle. It had a lookout tower on top. It was plain looking, but at least it had a lot of yard space. If he ever got happy again, he could play there.

The front door was banged on and a large woman opened it, yelling at Garp until she had the same reaction Luffy did: fear. But, instead of running away, she didn't move and listened to Garp speak, though her eyes were wide.

Two other men came beside her, and Luffy frowned deeply when he heard that those people would be taking care of him now. They didn't look like the nicest people, but at least they weren't Garp.

He looked around and saw something move in the treeline. But he didn't care much. Not really about anything, especially after leaving Foosha village. He looked back to the door, and was called over by Garp.

"Say hello," he said. Luffy mumbled, "Hi…" and was looking down. Then he was punched on the head and told to cheer up. "Hello," Luffy said with what he could best come up with as a smile. More like a grimace. The woman frowned at him, but not in anger or hostility.

Luffy then wandered away and to look around the yard. Then something wet hit his face. Water? He wiped it off, not giving much of a reaction, but he looked in the direction it came from, and saw a boy sitting on a huge animal carcass.

"Did you spit on me?" Luffy asked in confusion. Why would he spit on him? Luffy didn't even do anything, didn't even notice he was there. The boy, who was older than him probably by a couple years, just glared at Luffy intensely and didn't answer.

Luffy looked down. Great, just great. Someone hates him now and he hadn't even meet him. Luffy said nothing else and walked away from the boy. But then, "Oh Ace!" was called by Garp. The younger boy flinched from his loud voice. He heard Ace scoff, and his face turned red in embarrassment. He was so weak.

"Luffy, be nice with him," Garp commanded. If Luffy was himself, he would have told Garp it should be the other way around, but he said nothing and nodded.

Ace scowled at him some more. Weakling, huh? Garp just grinned at Ace, and called to the bandits in the doorway that he'd come visit in a couple months. He didn't even say goodbye to Luffy, not that he wanted to interact with the man.

Once Garp was out of view, and Ace was still glaring at him while the bandits grumbled about not wanting to take care of Luffy, he wandered into the forest. Wanting to get away from these mean people. Once Garp left, maybe Luffy could sneak back into Foosha. The house hadn't been sold, since Garp sometimes returned and stayed there. It would just get dusty without anyone in it.

No one tried to stop him from entering the jungle, not even warning him about all of the giant animals. No one really cared. Ace didn't follow and walked off in a different direction Luffy had.

The forest was full of sounds, loud enough to not have Luffy's open sobs be heard from anyone at the hut. He saw lots of animals. There were deer, big birds, squirrels, bugs flying around. Most of the creatures looked slightly familiar, but a bit different than those at his  _real_  home.

"Zoro?" Luffy asked the air. It seemed like Zoro and Sanji could hear him when he called, and they'd come visit with him for a couple minutes while they could, even though they werent solid. But, they could briefly touch things, like when Zoro's tail threw that bottle off of Makino's bar counter.

" _Hey, Luffy. Another bad day?"_ Zoro asked sympathetically. Every time Luffy asked for him and he could come, Luffy was always upset. He called Zoro to try and make him feel better. Luffy nodded.

"I had to leave Foosha because Garp said it made me weak. Now I'm stuck with a bunch of people who clearly don't want or like me," and he burst into tears again. "Are you guys still looking for me?"

" _Yes. But we haven't found anything. We've tried over fifty portals, and you know there are endless amounts. We don't know how long it will take, but we_ will  _take you home. Promise. If you ever need help, call me or Sanji. Somehow, we can connect to you in our world, but again, only for a few minutes. It's only me, Sanji, Nami and Usopp. Usopp doesn't come much and you don't call Nami often. But we can all get through for a moment._

" _We're still looking for you, and we won't forget you. Pro-"_ and he faded. Luffy rubbed his red eyes, picking up a stick and tapping it against the huge trees he walked past. He suddenly noticed everything had grown quiet. The birds had left and werent making noise anymore.

Then he saw what caused it. A MASSIVE beast, a tiger. No one told him this thing was in the forest. He backed away, while the tiger stared at him with narrowed eyes, before it bowed its head. Luffy was breathing quickly.

Why wasn't it attacking? He saw the teeth briefly, and it was huge compared to seven year old Luffy. But, it raised its head, and then walked away, not harming the boy. He was still hyperventilating before he closed his eyes to relax. He was alive, and the tiger had left. He walked further in the direction he'd been heading towards.

He looked behind him often before he finally accepted that the tiger hadn't hurt him and had left. He came across a few chubby black and white animals, much smaller than the tiger but still bigger than him. They were chewing on leaves off of a branch, and bowed their heads slightly to him before going back to happily eat the leaves off of their sticks. Why were the animals doing this? Birds and the tree climbing critters didn't acknowledge him at all.

The walk lasted about three hours before he walked back to the hut, in the exact opposite direction he'd walked towards. He met no more beasts, but he did catch a glimpse of Ace, hauling a boar. But he didn't see him long before Ace was gone. Luffy was walking slowly on short legs after all, and Ace was running, despite having the boar on his shoulders.

When he walked back into the clearing, the front door was open and Luffy hesitantly walked through the doorway. Ace was there, and the boar was being cut up to be cooked. It was disgusting. But the whole room went silent as they looked at Luffy in shock.

"YOU'RE ALIVE?!" they all shouted, and even Ace looked surprised.

"Yeah… Why didn't anyone tell me there were big animals?" he asked quietly. Sure, they'd left him alone, but these people didn't know they would.

"Forgot," one bandit said.

"Didn't really care," another said.

"We don't want to raise you! You'll be trouble," the only woman in the room said. Luffy swallowed down tears, and just walked right back out of the house. Back into the forest. He'd find his own dinner. Surely there was produce somewhere. And he did know how to make a fire, though he didn't have any weapons to kill an animal anyways.

He walked for around an hour before he came across some bananas on a tree above him. Sanji had gotten bananas before, but not from this world, since no one but him could enter. He climbed the tree, barefoot, since the sandals were terrible, and pulled down bunch after bunch of bananas.

When he was done, he had a pile bigger than his own body, and scarfed down the peeled bananas. He walked around some more after sticking bananas in his waistline of his shorts to look for some water, since he was thirsty. He found a stream and drank the cool water from it.

It was already dark out, and he was tired. Hoping he'd get to sleep in a bed in his own room, alone, he headed back to the hut. He'd marked arrows in the dirt with a stick when he had walked away from the path, so he could follow them back to the safer house. Not that he thought the animals would harm him based on a pack of wolves at the stream that had just looked at him. They didn't bow, but didn't attack him or even growl. They just ran off and back into the jungle.

It was night time, and he could see the stars clearly form the yard. The light from inside shone through the glassless windows. It must get cold inside. He opened the door and blinked the dots from the light out of his vision. Again, everyone was shocked. Even more so since he'd gone in at night.

"Where do I sleep?" Luffy asked flatly. Dogra, a smaller bandit with a turban shakily pointed to a door that lead into a little room. It had a single mat and some blankets. It didn't look like the most comfortable mat, but he laid on it. It was better than the floor, after all. He fell asleep easily, deciding as he lost consciousness that he'd explore the forest more tomorrow. The animals didn't hurt him, so it was probably safe for him if he stayed away from any water to drown in.

He was awoken in the middle of the night when he was harshly kicked off the mat and rolled to hit the wall. He sat up in confusion, to see Ace laying down on the mat. It made Luffy angry. "Hey! I was sleeping on that!" Luffy said angrily.

"Shut up. No one wants you here. Just act like you aren't. This room is mine and you're lucky you get to be in it at all."

Luffy bit his bottom lip before he snatched up the blanket from the floor and walked out of the room, slamming both the bedroom and front door loudly. Even the grass was better than the hard wooden floor. So, he walked a bit away from the back of the hut and laid down on the grass. It was just as cold out here than inside, and he got to look at the stars.

He fell asleep again, wrapped up in the thin blanket.

In the morning, he woke to someone stepping on his leg. It was clearly on purpose, as he was in the back of the yard, and it was a big clearing, so there were infinite areas around Luffy to go through. He looked up sleepily to see Ace through the bushes, brandishing a stone pole of some sort.

He sat up and yawned, realizing he had brought nothing with him. He had no change of clothes. Well, he would just go to Foosha and pack some things for himself. Things that were the other Luffy's but were his temporarily.

Luffy walked away and down the trail he and Garp had walked, ignoring the bandits calling for him to come back and work. He yawned as he walked down the dirt path. It really didn't take too long going more downhill than it had going with Garp. of course, he hated the man, so of course it felt like it took longer in his company.

He hoped Garp wasn't in town. Crap, he shouldn't go right now. Garp must be there. But, he came to the opening out to the fields and peeked around one of the huge trees to see the marine ship was still there. Damnit. He had to wear the same clothes again. He was going to stink soon.

Back home, he bathed every other day in the big bath with the bubbles that came out of it. It was always nice and quiet inside the bathroom. He missed that. He missed his big bed even more now that he had no bed or mat since Ace claimed that one as his, even though Luffy was there first.

He didn't walk back on the trail, but entered the forest again, climbing over foliage and roots. He saw some monkeys on the tree above him, and wondered if these ones wouldn't hurt him, too. They did not come near him, but didn't bow either. Just swung off and away from him. There were a lot of them. A family, probably.

He missed his family. They were so far apart from each other. He wanted to see them as soon as possible.

Without knowing it, Luffy was going in the same direction Ace was. Though it was the opposite way Ace had left through. Maybe he only went that way so he could step on the younger boy. Jerk. Why was he so mean? Luffy hadn't even done or said anything to him before he spit on him. For no reason!

He grumbled as he searched for food. He did find some, but they were hanging over a swamp, with creatures that he saw had big mouths with sharp teeth. He couldn't be knocked into the water, but those mangos looked yummy. Maybe these beasts wouldn't hurt him either.

"Please don't kill me," he said quietly as he stepped on the nearest crocodile. It made no move, though the other crocodiles' eyes followed him. Luffy stepped on the next nearest one, and walked along them like they were stepping stones. "I'm gonna get these fruits, and then come back down," he said to the crocodile he was on at the moment that was just above the pond.

He reached his hands up as far as he could, but couldn't reach. So, he tried using the devil fruit and flung his hands up above him, pulling down mango after mango and stuffing them into his pockets and shirt. The crocodile made no reaction, and the others let him walk across him to the other side of the pond.

"Thank you!" he called back as he stuffed mangos into his stretchable cheeks so he could use both hands to climb up a rock wall. He didn't look behind him to see Ace, with his jaw dropped open in shock and confusion. When he walked towards the reptiles, they snapped their jaws at him before he even got near the pond's surface.

Something was weird about that wimpy crybaby.

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**Review please! Sorry that the chapters are so long, unless that's a good thing!**


	3. Do You Believe Me?

**Kurosaki Shiro: Zoro is a dragon, but all the beasts in the other world are very diverse, though I didn't go into much detail by naming them or something. But later, it does explain the world a bit more. He is royalty in his home world, so his status must have crossed over with him. Or he's just so damn likable. Well, I guess the animals could feel pity for him. Anything is possible! Or maybe those are all the reasons? We might never know.**

**Kireeeshima: Poor Lu. It would be nice if he made friends. Even unspoken friends, like that crocodile that lets him stand on it to pick fruit. BFFs for life! JK. Or am I?**

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**So, this chapter is very long as I couldn't find a good break. Ace bashing to the MAX in this chap, and Sabo is an angel. Enjoy~**

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Luffy made it to the top of the rock wall relatively easily, and hurried off to a nice place to eat his fruits. He found a scenic cliff and sat on the root at the edge of it, and ate the sixteen mangos, pulling out seven of them from his mouth. Looks like rubber actually was handy with some things.

He then swung down the cliff, climbing down from root to root sticking out of the cliff face and went to the stream he'd found the day before. So far, despite being stepped on, this morning was nice.

"Zoro!" The green shadow appeared. Instead of asking for an update on how they were getting to them, Luffy gushed to the dragon shadow about how the animals reacted to him there. He left out the parts about Ace being a jerk. Zoro would get pissed, and probably hurt Ace in the few minutes he could stay in this world.

" _Maybe this is why you came to our world. Cause you bond with beasts or something. Ha, maybe you're the king of the beasts,"_ Zoro said. Luffy gigled.

"When I get back home, I should try and write a book about this nightmare. Well, I have to learn how to write good first."

" _I'm sure you'll figure it ou-"_ and he faded. Luffy hated when he couldn't finish his sentences before fading away. He turned back to the stream, snacking on the last mango he had as he dipped his toes in the cool water.

"Wish I could swim," he grumbled. He got up to explore some more, still not noticing Ace from the cliff, who was watching Luffy seemingly talking to himself. This kid was crazy. He finally stopped following Luffy and went off on his own business, going to the treasure tree to meet up with his secret friend.

-x-

The next few nights and days were spent the same. Luffy found his own food, now including small snakes and frogs, and slept outside, the day spent wandering around the forest. He met more beasts that left him alone, and still got food from the trees above the crocodile pond. They still didn't mind him.

Luffy had encountered a massive bear, with a scar on its face that made it look very intimidating, but it bowed to him and then wandered off. Luffy wished he could ride the animals! But, they might not appreciate that and Luffy would not get their respect and being safe from them. No, he wasn't going to risk it.

Ace also continued to be cruel to him. Luffy had tried to talk to him, but Ace always told him to shut up or leave him alone, or slam the door in his face. There was no one else here than Ace. The bandits were mean and didn't care about his wellbeing. They told him he was supposed to kill people. No, he wasn't going to kill anyone, and especially not because they said so.

The new kid rarely spent any time with anyone, really. Most of his time was spent alone outside or in the jungle. Except the fourth day, when he went back to the entrance to Foosha from the jungle. Garp's ship wasn't there anymore! But, neither was Shanks's. It made him sad. Shanks had been so nice to him, and now he was gone. Maybe he only stayed for Luffy.

Without seeing anyone who could tell Garp Luffy had been down there, he climbed through the open upstairs window, which was unlocked since no one would dare attack a vice-admiral's home. Plus, no one would do that in the village anyways.

The boy got a backpack and stuffed shirts, shorts and underwear in it, along with a sponge and some soap so he could sorta-bathe in the stream. He also got another bag and stuffed it with candy and snacks and food Garp had left behind.

In a paper bag, he put in a thick blanket. That was all he needed for now. He could come back anytime if he needed something. He didn't want to risk sleeping there yet. Not until he thought Garp was far, far away. Back to the Grand Line Shanks told him Garp worked in.

The bags were a handful, and heavy, but he slowly made it up the trail and to the bandit's hut. He went to the back, and dug a hole in the ground with a stick, out of view. It was a big hole by the end, and he coated the insides with large leaves. He stuck all of his new belongings inside, along with the food besides the candy that he snacked on.

He then covered the clothes and food with the same type of leaves and buried it, pulling a bush out of the ground and putting it on top of the hidden goods. He felt a lot better knowing he had those things, and hoped Ace wouldn't be a jackass and raid it. He took the soap and sponge with him to the stream to bathe.

As Luffy walked around the massive jungle, he ate his chocolate candy with a smile. No one and nothing bothered him. He had memorized landmarks to guide him to the stream or crocodile pond, so finding the stream was easy.

The little boy undressed and covered the sponge with a bit of the soap and wet his body to wash. He remembered, thankfully, that devil fruit users can't swim. He hoped he would be back to normal when he got home.

He felt much better after bathing, and not having talked to any of the mean humans he had to live with. He would change his clothes tomorrow before everyone woke up in the morning and he could leave before anyone saw him. By then, they'd probably already forget.

The next morning, Luffy came across a rope bridge he hadnt seen before. There was also someone walking across it. Ace. Luffy wondered where he went. But, he didn't want to get hit or belittled. He didn't want to cry. So, he waited for Ace to make it to the other side and wait for ten minutes or so, so he thought Ace had left.

He walked across the bridge, snacking on the little candy he had left. The bridge swayed and didn't seem very stable, so he walked across it slowly and carefully. This area was barren and covered in dirt, so he saw the footsteps that were Ace's. New and old ones, so he must come this way often. Luffy  _was_ curious, but he didn't want to upset Ace. have him yell at Luffy or hit him again.

He walked the perimeter of the cliff face, dragging his stick behind him for the trail he'd follow back, since he hadn't been on this area before, even though he'd been at this stupid hut for over a week an exploring every day for hours.

He didn't notice Ace was following him now from the high branches of the trees after Luffy entered the forest on this side of the ravine. Ace and a blonde haired kid waited up in the trees. Ace had told his friend, Sabo, about Luffy and the crocodiles, as well as his strange behavior. He insisted they'd follow him if they came across him together. But they had to be careful as this area had a lot of small bears, along with the Bear King and Tiger Lord.

Luffy hummed to himself as he ate some candy that Ace had no idea where he got, still dragging the thick branch. All three humans heard the roar of the tiger, and then a second roar that must be the bear. And Luffy just walked along, humming quietly.

Even as the two bosses of the forest fought each other, Luffy wasn't fazed, and the boys thought he was insane. He was going to die. Sabo was about to go and save him before both animals looked and saw the young child. It was too late.

Luffy didn't look at them as they stopped fighting and let him pass, both bowing their heads. The boys' mouths had gone dry and they were utterly shocked. The two massive animals then resumed their violent battle. Once they got out of their shock, they went around the beasts and continued to follow Luffy through the treetops.

Luffy was getting closer and closer to Gray Terminal, and therefore their stash of treasure. They both wanted to get him to go off course and not go anywhere near their stash. But, with the attention span of a gnat, the boy veered off the path the other two always took and followed a huge bug away. The two older boys sighed, and stopped following him.

"You were right. That kid is weird," Sabo said. Ace was scowling at the place Luffy had left to. What was Luffy hiding?

By the time Luffy made it home, Ace was already there and they were making dinner. For once, Luffy hesitantly walked in and sat down, far from the others, but close enough to reach the food. No one paid much attention to him except Ace, who wouldn't stop staring at him as he the boy ate with the one piece of meat he was able to swipe, and run away to eat so no one could snatch it from him.

Luffy knew Ace was staring at him, and it made him uncomfortable. After scarfing down the meat and a little rice, he went outside to get his blanket he hid during the day and went to bed in his usual spot.

No one usually followed Luffy out in the middle of the night because they didn't care much, so the others hadnt seen his fluffy quilt he slept on and under. Ace walked out and look at him, wondering where he'd gotten the blanket.

He looked to a little dirt trail from the outskirts of the forest, and found a little freshly dug mound. The kid wasn't very good at stashing things away. It was obvious to anyone who passed, unlike his and Sabo's tree branch they'd carved out to put their treasure in.

There was simple bathing supplies, changes of clothes and boxed and canned food. Ace wanted to know where he got all this crap since he didn't go into Gray Terminal or the city, and Gray Terminal sure didn't hold non-rotten food.

He didn't steal anything from it. It was a special stash, and he wouldn't want someone stealing his own stuff. Plus, he didnt need those clothes or bathing supplies, since Ace used the "bathtub" in the washroom inside. It seemed Luffy just bathed in the stream.

Also, Ace had no desire for crackers or canned fruits. He'd never eaten them, so he didn't crave them. Besides, Ace ate more than enough meat to not be hungry.

Luffy was a mystery. Why didn't the animals attack him. And they didn't just not attack him, they  _bowed_ to him. Why would animals even know what that meant? And that is most likely the main reason Luffy could wander around the jungle at night and come back perfectly fine and not torn apart by the carnivorous animals.

Ace would follow him again the next day.

When Luffy woke up, it was from the sun rising, which the bandits didn't use to wake up as they were inside. Luffy folded up his blanket and brought it to his stash, which looked perfectly fine. He undug the dirt and switched out a clean outfit and underwear, and replaced it with the blanket.

He'd have to do laundry soon. He was running out of his big supply of different and clean clothes. Well, soap and water would be good enough. After he changed, he picked up his walking stick and walked in the direction of the drawbridge that he'd crosse the day before, and had not explored that area.

He didn't hear or see Ace follow him far enough behind to not alert him, if he even paid attention to his surroundings. He was slow and leisurely, which annoyed Ace, who liked to get places quickly. And he got distracted multiple times by bugs, or stared up at birds and monkeys. He truly was a seven year old brat. But, Ace didn't act this ditzy when he was Luffy's age.

Hmm...

When Luffy finally crossed the bridge, Ace went to the side to go get Sabo from his little house in a tree not far from Gray Terminal. Then he'd find Luffy again and maybe confront him about the strangeness. He'd have to ask Sabo's advice on his to go about it.

Luffy climbed up the huge trees, excited to be in the highest area on the island. He walked along branch to branch, them being more than big enough for him to walk comfortably, and hop from tree to tree.

He came across a square cut into one of the branches he walked to. He was surprised to see some footsteps in the moss. "Zoro!" he shouted. Zoro's shadow appeared.

"Can you open this? I think there's something inside," Luffy said with a smile. Zoro liked seeing Luffy smile like this, which was rare in the depression he was sunk into, even though he put on a facade a lot of the time, even when he was alone.

" _Looks like it,"_ Zoro replied and dug his claws into it, ripping the covering upwards. " _Luffy!"_ he cried suddenly as the boy was knocked off the tree branch, fifty feet in the air. Luffy looked up to who was next to Zoro that he didn't notice, and saw Ace, holding a pole. He had knocked Luffy off of the tree.

Luffy screamed and landed on the ground hard before Zoro could get down to him, but being rubber, the boy was alive, though slightly hurt and shocked.

Ace heard the deafening roar next to him, and Zoro dug his invisible claws into Ace's arm, ripping the pole away and spraying blood across the branch, which he sliced in half, the whole thing tumbling down and landing with a massive thud. Ace screamed in pain as his arm bled, but Sabo jumped from another tree branch quick enough to pin them against the trunk with his pole shoved into the trunk.

"Ace! What happened?!" Sabo shouted. The branch was too thick to be cut by any sword or knife, so what the hell cut it?

Luffy groaned in pain on the ground. He'd hit it hard, and his head had snapped back against the ground as well. "Zoro?" he moaned, but Zoro had faded after his attack on Ace.

"Monster. There was a monster on the branch!" Ace cried, tears stinging his eyes from the gashes in his arm. "Th- The treasure, we have to move it! We we- were too loud!"

Sabo slid them down the tree to see their treasure stash was spread across the ground, golden and glittering in the light. Sabo stuffed the treasures into his hat, pockets, and shirt. Ace did as well, with one arm as the other one was in too much pain.

Luffy finally gained his bearings as rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up onto unsteady feet. He was dizzy. He looked up at the severed branch, the money on the ground, and a bleeding Ace.

The gashes on Ace's arm were no doubt from Zoro's claws. Zoro had hurt Ace for hurting Luffy. Luffy hadnt ever seen Ace cry before, but the wounds on his arms brought tears to his cold eyes, as he glared at Luffy.

"What did you do?!" Ace screamed at him, holding his bloody arm. Luffy was angry. Ace didn't even know Luffy was made of rubber! No one here did, and he had knocked him off of the tree. To fall to his death.

"It's your fault first!" Luffy shouted back. "You coulda killed me!" He was furious, and hurt that someone had tried to kill him like this. Over a bunch of shiny crap in a hole.

"You called that invisible monster on me!" Ace growled, stomping over to him. Luffy stood up as tall as he could, though he was smaller than Ace by a couple inches.

"Zoro reacted cause you almost killed me. Of course he was angry! And I didn't call him on you, he did it on his own! You jerk! What the hell is your problem?! Why do you hate me so much, I've barely ever talked to you! Why do you kick me, or step on me in my sleep for no reason?!"

"Because I hate weak people, and you're weak! You cry,  _all the time._ What's so bad in your sheltered, easy life that make you so needlessly depressed?!" Luffy growled at him.

"That's none of your business and you'd never understand in the first place! You have the easy life, doing whatever you want during the day, having a friend. I don't wanna be here, I have nobody, wanna go home, and I can't! No matter what anyone's been doing, I can't get back! So  _shut up_  about me having an easy life! Maybe I  _will_  call Zoro on you if you keep being mean to me!"

"Oh, your life is  _so_  hard! Stupid little boy. Go back where you came from!" Tears sprung in Luffy's eyes. Of hurt or anger neither boy knew.

"I just told you I wanted to and can't! I dont belong here! I  _know_  I don't! I don't like being in this body, or this world, or anywhere besides home! So screw you! You're life isn't hard at all!" and Luffy ran off. Ace didn't know what to make of his words, but Sabo interrupted his conflicted thoughts.

"Ace, help me move the treasure," he said calmly. "If you can." Ace's arm was still bleeding heavily. Whatever wounded him like that could have easily sliced the whole appendage off. Ace should be glad "the monster" didn't amputate it instantly like it had the tree branch.

Ace scowled but took his shirt off carefully and carried treasure in it with one arm while the other hung limply. Sabo looked at his friend with a frown. "Ace, you went too far. He's just a little kid, and he obviously has issues. You always told me he was just mopey." Sabo sighed, disappointed in his friend.

"Let's go find another tree," Ace grumbled.

"No, we'll hide it all in a bush and get you back to your place, and have your arm fixed up. Then, you can apologize to Luffy." Ace was clearly going to protest against all of that, but Sabo gave him a warning look. He wasn't just disappointed, he was angry, too. Ace swallowed and nodded, both hurrying back towards the bandit's hut.

After they hid the treasure in a thorny bush, Sabo helped Ace get back to the hut, to Magra, who wasn't a doctor, but the one who handled injuries. Sabo left him at the house, and went around back to where Ace said Luffy stayed and where he hid his belongings.

The blonde really was feeling bad for Luffy. He had issues, maybe a mental illness by what he'd said, and Ace was no doubt making it worse. Ace never went into detail how cruel he was to the little boy. He kicked and stepped on him? He knew he had anger issues, but Ace had never told him Luffy did anything to him that would warrant the cruel behavior.

But, who or what was "Zoro"? What had hurt Ace and chopped off the branch? He hadnt see anything and didn't know anything had happened until Ace screamed.

The area where Luffy's stash was supposed to be was a mess. Obviously dug out. Everything in it was gone. He followed the path into the forest that Luffy's footprints made. They came out to the main path, further down than the part that lead straight to the hut. Sabo followed the trail until he entered the fields of the quaint little village. Luffy had moved through the wheat fields, parting them into a straight path to a smaller two story house.

Sabo walked slowly, wondering what he was supposed to do to make him feel better. And hopefully not be attacked by the invisible monster that just about ripped his friend's arm off. Though, Ace did knock Luffy off of a tree without knowing the kid could somehow survive.

The lights weren't on in the house, and the curtains were all shut. It was hard to tell if anyone was inside. He knocked on the front door. No one answered and no sound was made on the other side except for the door's deadbolt sliding shut with a click.

"Luffy, right? I just wanna talk," Sabo said loudly. No one answered. There was no sound from inside, and if the door hadn't been locked, he would have usually just walked inside. "My name is Sabo. I just wanna talk to you. Ace isn't here." Nothing. "You're lonely, aren't you?"

"Go away," Luffy's muffled voice from the other side of the door said. "I'm gonna live here now. Go tell Ace he doesn't have to step on me any more." Sabo sighed.

"Even though Ace is my friend, I don't like how he's been treating you. If I knew that he was, I would have stopped him, but he never gave details," Sabo said honestly.

"Ace is a terrible person. You're his friend. Go away," Luffy repeated. He really didn't want to talk to  _Ace's_ friend. "You're just gonna go tell him if I even talk to you."

"I  _won't._ I swear on Ace's and my friendship that I won't repeat what you tell me," Sabo said firmly. He waited for any kind of response. He smiled lightly when the lock turned and the door was open. His smile left when he saw Luffy's face.

It was bright red and his eyes were puffy and bloodshot, tears still coming from them. He had a runny nose that he kept sniffling. Sabo wanted to tell him to use a tissue, but of course he didn't.

"Can I come in?" Sabo asked gently. Luffy looked down, conflicted. He didn't know Sabo, but someone actually wanted to  _talk to him._ Luffy pursed his lips, but then moved to the side to let Sabo in. The older boy closed the front door gently behind him.

"What do you want," Luffy said in a surprisingly even voice despite his tears and puffy face.

"I want you to talk to me. About anything you want. Ace isn't the nicest person, or the easiest to get along with, and the bandits won't even talk to Ace and he's been there since he was a baby. You don't have to explain anything about today you don't want to, but I'm open to listen to anything else." Sabo lead him to the living room and sat on the loveseat while Luffy had the couch to himself.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to tell you."

"What's your favorite color?" Sabo asked simply. By the circles clear under Luffy's eyes, and the deep frown that seemed to be his relaxed expression, Sabo knew that he must have some sort of depression. He recognized the expression too much.

"Blue, but everything in my room is red." Then he completely switched topics. "Even if I tell you about personal stuff, you're just gonna think I'm crazy. Like everyone else…" He curled his legs up onto the couch so he was in a ball.

"Why is everything red if you like blue?" Sabo asked softly. He wasn't going to just go right into "tell me all your secrets", or anything like that.

"The Luffy here likes red," the boy replied simply. Sabo made no surprised expression.

"My favorite color is blue and green. They're tied, but I've been told I look better in green, so I wear blue. I don't want to be what others tell me to be, that's why I live by myself in the forest," Sabo said.

"...You don't get lonely?" Luffy asked quietly.

"I do. I get lonely all the time. But, when I get too lonely, I have Ace and some other guys near where I live to talk to."

"I have no one. I don't understand what a lot of people talk about, and when I'm sad they think I'm crazy. But I'm not, because Zoro is real. Like when he attacked Ace, I know he's real cause other people knew he was there."

"Is Zoro your friend?" Luffy nodded. "What's he like?" Luffy smiled softly. He wasn't able to talk to anyone about his real life, without sounding crazy or sick in the head.

"Zoro is really protective, but he gets lost a lot, despite having a good nose and ears. He always sits with me at the lake but got mad when I leaned over it. I get in trouble a lot with him, but then he acts like it was all me. But he's a good friend, and still trying to find me and take me back home," Luffy explained, more than Sabo expected him to.

"This isn't your home?" Luffy shook his head.

"I just got stuck here. I fell into the lake that I wasn't supposed to go near, and then I woke up in this Luffy's bed. I didn't recognize anyone when I first came. It was terrible. I didn't even know if the people here were humans, 'cause I was the only human I knew. I couldn't even tell apart men and women.

"Shanks was really nice to me, but he thought I was his Luffy and then went crazy. But he was really nice to me, and I miss him. Garp told me he would beat me back to being sane, cause I was crazy. And when I couldn't fight back, he said I was too soft, and took me from here to the bandit's house.

"I hate them. I hate all of them. They're terrible. Said they didn't care if I got killed by animals in the forest cause taking care of me is a pain. That was the first night, and then Ace kicked me out of the bed when I was sleeping and said mean things to me. So I went outside to sleep because the floor was too hard and uncomfortable.

"Nobody likes me. The people here like their Luffy. Not me. I just got stuck in his body. I'm a faker," Luffy confessed quietly. Sabo made no outward reaction to all of the things Luffy was telling him.

"It must have been scary." Luffy nodded. "Ace hates Garp, too. I think everyone who isn't a marine probably hate him. I've seen him beat up Ace once. As 'training'," Sabo explained.

"Marines are bad people. Shanks said they support slaves." Sabo scowled, but nodded and told him that was accurate. Then Luffy pulled the straw hat off of his head. "Shanks gave this to me, to give back one day. I'm afraid I'll lose it on the way or accidentally take it with me, and Shanks will never get it back."

"How about, after you go back home, I'll make sure he gets it." Luffy looked at him curiously.

"This Luffy will probably take it back. I don't know how much he remembers. I think he's sleeping still."

"Sleeping? What do you mean?" Sabo questioned curiously. Luffy pointed to his head.

"I dream that the other Luffy is sleeping in a comfy bed, and there's lots of food all over the place. I hope he doesn't hurt…" Luffy said, ashamed. He blamed himself for being trapped in this body. He didn't mean to, he just woke up in it one day.

"Well, when you get taken back home, you might leave Luffy's body here, and he'd wake up. Can I ask how you got here? What is the lake?" Sabo asked curiously, but still with a kind voice. Luffy had stopped crying, though his face was still blotchy red.

"The lake is magic water or something, that you can go into to get to other worlds and dimensions. Sanji goes through to get yummy food from different worlds, and Usopp and his other friends go to get smart tools and stuff from other places. Or beasts just go in to travel for fun.

"I fell in and ended up here. No on else can reach me. But Zoro says everyone is trying. I hope they don't forget about me…"

"You were the only human?" Sabo asked, actually thinking Luffy wasn't crazy. He was most likely mentally ill with depression, but he went in to so much detail and had the proof of Zoro's attack. Sabo wished he could be taking notes so he could write a book about Luffy's story. Sabo would give it a happy ending, even if it doesn't end up being so in real life.

"Yeah. I just was found floating in the water as a baby. Everyone took care of me and I was important… for some reason. I don't know what." Sabo put on his thinking face.

"Maybe it has something to do with how the animals in the forest seem to respect you," he wondered.

"You don't think I'm crazy?" Luffy asked in slight disbelief, but mostly hope. Sabo grinned at him and shook his head.

"No, I don't think your crazy. I think your story is out of this world, but not crazy in a bad way. So, how is Zoro here if no one can reach you?" he wondered. Luffy shrugged.

"Sanji can do it too, but I know he's always busy cooking. Zoro was my best friend and guard. He can't come here solidly, and only I can see him when his shadow comes. He can only stay for a little bit at a time. He's all I have to talk to, and makes me think that I'm not crazy." Then Luffy grew bashful and shy. "Sabo… will you be my friend?" the boy asked quietly. It was like he was preparing for the worst right after he asked. He would be hurt if Sabo declined.

"Sure." Luffy grinned, a bright smile that lit up his face. Then it faded.

"Will you come visit me here?"

Sabo smiled kindly at the shorter boy. "Sure," he replied again. Sabo left the house, and to him, personally, being all alone in this empty house seems lonelier than him living in tree near the dump. After he made sure Ace was alright, he'd come to talk to Luffy again. And hopefully get Ace to apologize.

"You promise you won't tell Ace what we talked about?" Luffy asked with wide eyes. He'd just spilled a lot of important and very personal things to this near stranger, though it felt good to finally tell someone.

"I promise. I said I wouldn't, didn't I?" Sabo asked with a friendly smile, before he turned around and Luffy closed and locked the back door behind him.

Meanwhile, Ace was not being cooperative with fixing his arm. The gashes were so deep they needed stitches, which Magra did surprisingly well despite not being trained professionally. Through the whole thing, Ace was spewing cuss words in pain and anger at something Luffy did, but Ace never told them what. Just that the injury was Luffy's fault. He was a hot mess, and most of the bandits left the hut because his useless shouting was getting on everyones' nerves.

Ace wondered where the hell Sabo went while he laid on his thin mat, glaring at the ceiling. He felt really sick and lightheaded, and Magra said it was from blood loss. Ace refused that fact because it would mean he was weak.

"Now, now. It means you're human, Ace."

"No! I'm not so weak a little blood loss would hurt me!" Ace shouted. He was still furious of how he was taken out like a little bitch. And he and Sabo still needed to move all the treasure! If someone got all that hard earned money Ace really was gonna kill Luffy, but from a good distance so the monster, Zoro, didn't finish him off or rip off his entire arm.

"Ace, shut up you brat! And why would Luffy hurt your arm?" Dadan demanded. Ace huffed, and refused to answer her. He couldn't exactly tell them he knocked Luffy off of a tree to his death and then was attacked by an invisible monster. So he didn't answer.

Sabo checked on their treasure, making sure it was safe, and then went to the bandit's hut, leaning against the wall outside, next to the open front door. He sighed at the ruckus Ace was making, raving about the "little brat".

Once Magra left the hut, satisfied with Ace's "fixed" wound, and Sabo walked in. "The treasure is still there. I went to talk to Luffy. I'm… angry with you, Ace. He's going through a lot of shit and then you just make it worse for no reason? Your 'reason' is bullshit! You don't like him for being weak, and crying a lot? It's cause he has depression you idiot! It's clear just by speaking to him! You know what depression can lead to? That it's an illness in the brain that you don't just 'cheer up'! Depression can lead to suicide! Do you want him to kill himself? Well, you probably don't care since you abuse and knocked him out of damn tree today. Though I hope your wound heals, you deserved it." Sabo was scowling at Ace, and it made him both angry and shocked, along with hurt. His friend told him that he deserved to have his arm ripped apart.

"You talked to him? Where did he go?" Ace asked, ignoring everything else Sabo had said for now. He didn't know what depression was, just that Luffy was a downer. Did Ace make Luffy sick? In the brain? You can't just bandage your brain. He avoided acknowledging that he was in the wrong with what he'd been doing.

"He took all of his stuff and went back to where he lived before Garp forced him to come here. I'm not going to tell you exactly what we talked about, just that his life is an absolute mess at the moment, and he deserves someone to treat him well. So, I'm going to go visit him.

"And you are apologizing to him. Sincerely. You know what you've done is wrong; it's clear on your face. Just because you have problems doesn't mean everyone elses' are beneath yours. Okay?" Sabo finished on a soft note. Ace frowned but nodded. He winced as he adjusted his wounded arm.

With the blood cleaned off, Sabo could see that the gashes were long and there were many. It was lucky Zoro's claws werent serated and were easier to stitch up. "Looks like it hurts," Sabo observed. Ace scoffed. "Duh. It got fucking ripped apart by a monster.

"What did you two talk about?" Ace wondered.

"I promised Luffy I wouldn't tell anyone else. He told me some really personal things," Sabo replied, sitting next to Ace, who was still laying down on his back, slightly pale. He frowned at his friend, and used the "Don't you trust me?" card. But Sabo didn't crumble, and still refused to tell Ace.

"Whose side are you on, Sabo?" Ace snapped. The blonde sighed.

"For now, I'm on Luffy's side until you apologize to him. He won't be living with you anymore, anyways. He's just gonna live all alone in his empty house without telling anyone so Garp won't come get him," Sabo said. "That's all I'm gonna tell you."

Ace frowned deeply. "Did you at least talk about the monster that ripped my damn arm apart?" he snapped. He deserved to know after what it did to him.

"Zoro is Luffy's protective friend, who grew angry when you knocked Luffy out of the tree," Sabo said. He didn't go into any more detail besides that, and Ace knew Sabo was not good at being bribed, black mailed, or pushed into telling a secret. After all, he'd kept the fact he was born a noble for five years. It was only somewhat recently that Ace had found out about it.

* * *

 

**Oh Sabo, you are a life saver! Honestly Ace deserved to have his arm torn up.**


	4. Where Did My Friends Go?

 

**Next chapter is the last! Letting up on the Ace hate in this one. Enjoy~**

* * *

"Zoro."

" _Is that jackass anywhere near? I didn't get to cut his arm off before I faded. I should have bitten. It would have come clean off,"_ Zoro raged, his tail flicking angrily, knocking pictures off of the walls. Luffy gave him a smile.

"After you left, he said some really mean things to me. So I took my stuff and came back here. I'm gonna stay here now." Luffy didn't tell him about how he had told everything to Sabo, a complete stranger, really. Zoro would probably be mad.

" _If I were really there, he would not get away with saying anything mean or disrespectful to you. No way in hell,"_ Zoro grumbled. Luffy gave him a small smile. " _We all miss you. And we've found other portals in other worlds, so we are inspecting those, but still haven't found any portal to the human world. But we will. It's only a matter of t-"_ and he was gone.

"Sanji?"

" _Why haven't you called me before now?"_ the yellow shadow asked, slightly irritable. Sanji wasn't nearly as big as Zoro was. He wasn't a dragon like Zoro. He had a more human figure, though with another pair of arms and a different face. Plus, his skin was like leather and he was much bigger than any of the humans Luffy had seen so far.

"You always say you're busy," Luffy replied honestly. Sanji seemed offended.

" _Only when you bother me when I'm cooking! I'll come any time you call me, and if I see that Ace kid Zoro's told me about, he won't be happy,"_ Sanji threatened. Luffy gave him a small smile.

"I never wanna see him again, but his friend said he'd be my friend and come and see me. Sanji… I want to go home. Please find me," Luffy pleaded, tears in his eyes. Sanji's expression softened and he wore a sad smile.

" _We will. Everyone is looking. No luck so far, but with the discovery of other portals in other worlds, we have more places to check. Just sit tight,"_ and Sanji faded.

Luffy curled into a ball, tears in his eyes. He hated this world. Sure, the forest was nice, but he had that back at home, too. Even though the rubber power was helpful, it made him feel strange and uncomfortable. He'd rather just be normal again. Well, he would have died being pushed off the tree if he hadn't been rubber.

He hoped Sabo wouldn't tell Ace what Luffy told him. He shouldn't have said anything about it. It was a mistake to do so. After all, he barely knew Sabo. But, maybe that's why he felt comfortable telling him.

Luffy stayed in the house for a long time until his stomach started to growl painfully. All of the produce was gone or rotten by now, and he'd taken most of the non-perishable food with him already. He left the house out the back door, going to go get some more fruit, since that's really what he lived off except eating with the bandits for dinner and getting barely anything.

He didn't want any of the villagers to see him, because they might call Garp, and he would probably beat Luffy for it. Luffy wasn't weak. He just wasn't strong enough to fight a full grown, fight trained man. Of course he couldn't, he was a child! He wondered if Zoro would kill Garp if he saw him. Luffy hadnt really told anyone else about Garp's training and how horrible he was.

When he was in the village, he could rarely talk to Zoro without raising suspicion, and he apparently was too old to have an imaginary friend. So, Luffy wandered into the forest to get some food.

-x-

It was getting dark while Sabo carved out a new hiding spot into a thick tree at the opposite end of the forest from their old one, and then safely carried all of their treasure to the hollowed out hole.

He heard rustling below, and thought it was a bad guy based on the crunching steps. He got ready to jump down and attack, when he saw Luffy and his oversized hat walked in the bushes, looking for something. Sabo dropped down, loud enough so he wouldn't sneak up on Luffy, and said hello. Luffy was startled and jumped, and then said a quiet, "Hi…" to Sabo, embarrassed about crying in front of him so much earlier.

"Are you looking for food?" Sabo asked conversationally. Luffy nodded his head slowly. "Do you ever eat meat? Or just fruit and small critters?"

"Fruit mostly. I can't kill the animals and they leave me alone, so I don't wanna kill them," Luffy replied. "...How's Ace?" Sabo frowned.

"He has to be in bed rest for awhile, with his arm heavily bandaged, but his life isn't in danger. He should be thankful Zoro didn't rip his whole arm off," Sabo said conversationally. "I could hunt the animal and we could cook it together somewhere open," the older boy suggested. Luffy looked at his feet and then nodded.

Though nothing hurt Luffy, Sabo was attacked by wolves once he was in their territory. But he kept them at bay, at least not having to protect Luffy. And he and Ace never killed the wolves since they're a pack and when one dies, all of them hunts whatever killed their kin.

They managed to escape them, and were now sitting in a tree at the crocodile pond. "You ever had crocodile meat?" Sabo questioned with a smile. Luffy shrugged.

"All the meat looks the same at the end," he replied. "Does it taste different? Than other meat and stuff?" Sabo grinned.

"Guess we'll find out," the boy said and dropped down, beating a crocodile that was alone and far from the others until it didn't move anymore, and then quickly dragged it from the pond. It was heavy, and usually he had Ace with him, but he was able to carry it to a short distance away, and set it up to cook over a large bonfire made of logs and twigs.

Luffy had never gotten to eat as much dinner here as he did that night, since all he had to share with was Sabo, instead of over a dozen bandits. And Ace, who ate just as much as Luffy.

"Did you like it?" Sabo asked as he leaned against a tree trunk, satisfied with his belly full. Luffy nodded his head, but was cold and wanted to go to bed now. "You want to go back to the house?" Luffy nodded again, and stood up to dust his shorts off.

"I can get back by myself. Probably," Luffy replied. "The animals don't hurt me." Sabo just chuckled and told him he'd walk him back. Luffy told him he didn't need to, unused to someone paying attention to him like this after the over a month of hell. Shanks would talk to him, but he was long gone, and Luffy, this Luffy, would probably never see him again.

"Nah, I'll come along. Unless you don't want me to." Luffy quickly shook his head.

"You can come if you want."

"Good," Sabo said as they started walking back to the path from the hut to Foosha village. They were quiet for a little bit, walking in the darkness under the canopy of leaves. "So where'd you get the hat? Did this world's Luffy already have it? I've noticed you wear it everywhere."

Luffy took the hat into his hands, still feeling like he didn't deserve it. "Shanks gave it to me. Probably because he felt sad for me. He must have thought I was crazy still. But at least he tried to stop Garp from beating me up. I don't deserve the hat. I want to give it back to him already. No one likes me for me, I just try to pretend to be the Luffy the villagers want me to be," Luffy explained, surprising both of them by how much he'd said. Sabo looked at him sadly. Even Luffy could tell this in the dark.

"Well, hopefully you won't be here longer, and it's not like you meant to pop out in this world into another Luffy's body. Besides, when you go home, you won't have to pretend anymore. And I'm sure you'll have an interesting story to tell Zoro and your other friends," Sabo said kindly. Luffy was confused as to why someone so nice would be friends with Ace.

"I guess. I hope they find me soon. Well, they know where I am, just can't get to me. I wish I was a beast, too. Not a human. There's nothing cool about being a human," Luffy mumbled. "They die easily."

Sabo hummed. "Well, I agree that humans are weak, and die easily, and that we're not the most interesting creatures really, but you have to try and make yourself cool. You aren't just born spectacular or something. Besides, I think you're pretty cool. No, I mean it." Then Sabo explained all the reasons he thought Luffy was cool. "You came from another dimension, can summon your friends from another world, and the animals don't hurt you. Hell, you can use crocodiles as stepping stones!" Luffy smiled slightly.

"You're nice, Sabo," he said simply. He just laughed.

"Not really. I'm just nicer than Ace and the bandits, and that's not saying much." Luffy abruptly stopped walking. "What's wrong?" Sabo asked. He couldn't see Luffy's face in the dark.

"If you're not a nice person, then you just feel sorry for me and that's why you're talking with me. You just pity me!" Luffy shouted, and then shoved past Sabo and ran through the woods, his eyes swimming with tears, as Sabo called after him. Luffy could hear him running behind him. Why doesn't he just leave Luffy alone? Being pitied is humiliating. Now that he thought about it, Shanks must have pitied him, too.

"Wait! Luffy, wait for me!" Sabo called. When they came out of the forest and onto the path, Sabo was still following Luffy, and caught up to him easily without obstacles in his way.

"Leave me alone, I don't want your pity!" Luffy shouted, but Sabo grabbed him and pulled him in for a tight hug. Luffy sobbed, and without thinking about it, he hugged Sabo back tightly.

Sabo hadn't realized it was this bad.

"I don't pity you. I feel sympathy for you, but only because I know what it feels like to be lonely and depressed, with no one liking you for you. That was my life for over half of my life. I always wore that tired frown, since even when I didn't, no one cared. Nobody cared about me as a person.

"Yes, I feel sorry for you, but it's not the same as pitying. At least, not to me. I want you to feel better. I want to help someone out of their darkness, and I want to make it a little easier for you until you go back home," Sabo explained quietly. Luffy just continued to cry, probably dripping snot and tears onto Sabo's shirt. But he didn't care at the moment.

Luffy grew more and more tired, and slumped against Sabo, finally falling into a peaceful sleep, knowing he wasn't alone. Sabo picked him up and carried him back to the house on his back. Poor Luffy. Sabo wanted him to go home soon.

When he got to the house, he opened the unlocked door and walked with Luffy up the stairs and to the room covered in red. Even the blankets were red. He tucked the kid in, taking his shoes off and putting the blankets over him.

Sabo wanted to leave him a note, but assumed Luffy couldn't read anything from this world. He left the house, planning on going back to check on Ace and then go home. He made sure to lock the front door, back door, and lower story windows. He climbed out of the master bedroom's window. He hoped no one saw him. He'd look very suspicious, especially since no one was supposed to be in this house.

Sabo would visit Luffy again tomorrow.

-x-

Luffy woke up to sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains. He was in his bed. Well, his bed at the moment. Sabo must have taken him home. He turned over in bed and cried, but in happiness that someone cared about him here. He remembered all of Sabo's words last night before he cried himself to sleep. He didn't even feel embarrassed about it. Sabo knew what he felt like.

He also found that someone had put a ton of fruits at the back door. Luffy gratefully ate all of the grapefruits. He would stay home, and hope for Sabo to come visit him.

To pass the time, he pulled out some of the coloring books stuffed under the bed and entertained himself drawing with crayons. The boy couldn't help but think about how nice it was to sleep in a bed again. Not the cold ground outside. He wondered if anyone at the bandits' house cared he wasn't there. Hadn't slept there and hadnt woken up there.

They probably didn't. Oh well, now he had Sabo to care about him. "Zoro?"

The green shadow didn't come. "Zoro?" he asked again. But Zoro didn't appear. Luffy grew a deep frown. Did they forget about him, too? He grew lonely. Where was Zoro? "Sanji?" No one came. "Anyone...?" Nothing happened. The house stayed quiet.

Luffy did his best not to panic. But he couldn't help but think they abandoned him. It'd been over a month after all. Maybe there was a problem getting through and they had to stop? Was he gonna be stuck here for forever? He really didn't want to stay any longer than absolutely necessary. Not only did he want to go home, but he felt guilty for stealing this world's Luffy's body. But, he seemed to still be sleeping in the back of his head.

When the silence got too loud for him, he left the house out the back door, and walked back through the field of long grass, so no one from the village could see him make his way to the forest from the house. He had no key to lock it, so anyone could get into the home. There wasn't anything of value to Luffy in there and the food was gone.

He walked around the forest, looking for Sabo; he wanted someone to talk to, especially if no one from home was answering. He tried not to think about it too much. But it was hard not to obsess over it. Especially when he was already feeling useless and unwanted. To have his friends stop coming hurt.

Luffy made his way to the rope bridge, following the cliff face that he came across, and went to the other side. But then he remembered the riches the other boys had been hiding in there was gone. He wondered what it looked like now. The scene of two almost-murders. It didn't take long to get to, and he had no obstacles in his way, as the animals didn't bother him, like usual.

He found the giant tree and frowned at it. Ace bled a lot. The massive branch had been so heavy and fell from so high that it dented the ground. There was also a marking of Luff's body in the grass, showing where he'd fallen to.

Blood was across the branch, like it had sprayed from the wound. Luffy had been dazed when it happened, so he didn't see it. He hadnt even paid attention to the wound as he was having the heated argument with Ace. Luffy still couldn't forgive him for trying to kill him over some treasure. Why was Sabo his friend?

And where did Sabo live? Luffy explored the forest, checking all of the trees to see if Sabo was living inside one. Then he came across a terrible smell. He plugged his nose as he walked further, wondering what smelled so terrible.

He also started to hear people talking. He hadn't known there was another town on this island. He'd only ever been to Foosha and the forest. And he was a bit bummed that the forest had an end and didn't go on forever for him to explore. Exploring was a good distraction for him.

The place the stench came from came into view and Luffy just stared at it. Was all of this… trash? Did humans really just dump everything in one place and leave it? No wonder it smelled. And he saw people moving throughout it, and the whole trash mountain was very large. A place to explore! Though he didn't, as he got bad feelings from this place.

And everyone always told him to trust his gut, and his gut was telling him not to go in there. At least not when he has no protection. Zoro and Sanji still werent coming out. So Luffy walked around the forest's edge, looking down and trying to see what was going on in the trash city without getting too close.

He finally saw the other humans there, and they were very different from those in the village. These ones were dirty and sad looking. And  _violent._ Even from here, Luffy saw a robbing, and a dead body with a knife in it. He covered his mouth with his hand and backed away, before he was out of view and sprinted back into the jungle.

Were humans like that? Did they kill each other? Hurt each other? Sure, his world hadn't been perfect, but everyone seemed to get along alright. Was there something different about the humans? Luffy didn't like it, and vowed to not return to the trash city without protection. Or maybe going with Sabo. Where was he?

Luffy searched the forest some more, and finally found Sabo. And Ace. Ace had a sling on with the arm heavily bandaged. Apparently he hadn't listened about needing bed rest. He and Sabo were in a large tree. The tree Luffy had met Sabo under last night! Why didn't he check there first?

The boy hesitantly walked closer, not knowing whether to come out or not in case Ace got violent again. And he didn't have Zoro or Sanji this time to help him. He hid behind a tree for a few minutes before he shyly walked out into the open where they could see him.

"Hey, Luffy! I was gonna go see you later. Hey, you okay?" Sabo asked, actually sounding concerned. Luffy licked his lips.

"It's nothing," he said with a horrible fake smile. It even made Ace feel bad for him, who was just giving the young boy a blank stare. When he and Luffy made eye contact, Luffy glared but also showed hurt. This kid tried to kill him, and then screamed in his face things that he had no clue were true or not. But Ace gave a sigh and turned to look at Luffy fully.

"I'm sorry I knocked you off the tree yesterday. And I'm sorry for yelling at you. If Sabo says you have a bad personal life, then I don't doubt you," Ace admitted in a calm voice. When Luffy's face showed panic, Sabo quickly stepped in.

"I didn't tell him any details of what you told me. Just that things are hard for you right now. Did you eat breakfast?" he asked. Luffy nodded his head. He'd eaten all of the fruit. "Do you want to hang out with us today?" Sabo questioned with a smile. Luffy flicked his eyes to Ace, who gave an unconcerned shrug.

"Better not call Zoro on me, though," Ace threatened. Luffy looked down sadly.

"Zoro isn't coming today," he said simply and sadly. Sabo asked what had happened, which Luffy replied with a shrug.

"Well, you can still hang out with us. We're gonna set some traps around the new treasure tree," Sabo explained. "We have to go to Gray Terminal to get the supplies. This tree is a lot further from the junkyard than the other tree. But, there was too much attention over there after what happened, so we had to move further."

"Just means people are less likely to find it since it's nowhere near Gray Terminal," Ace said. When Luffy asked what they were talking about, Ace said, "The junk city. It's called Gray Terminal. We get supplies from there, and that's also where we get our treasure from. It's a free-for-all area."

"What are you going to buy with the treasure?" Luffy asked curiously, remembering how much there had been. He didn't know this world's currency, but it looked like it was worth a lot just based on how much there was.

"It's our pirate funds. We're going to be pirates once we grow up," Sabo replied.

"Beats staying at this dump of an island. Besides the forest and Gray Terminal, there's nowhere to go and nobody to meet." Luffy looked interested. He was about to ask something that would sound odd to Ace.

"Pirates are a big thing, huh?" Luffy asked, wondering how many people really are pirates, even though Shanks went through it in detail.

"Well of course. It is the golden age of pirates after all," Sabo replied. "Everyone wants to find the One Piece, while Ace wants to kill someone." Luffy looked to Ace, his expression questioning who and why.

"It means nothing to you. You don't need to know," Ace said shortly. Luffy's cheeks turned red. He hadnt even asked. Sabo smacked Ace's shoulder with the back of his hand. His expression turned stern, like he was telling Ace to explain who and why Ace wanted to kill. He sighed, and said, "His name is Whitebeard and we have a slight connection he doesn't know about. That's all."

"Oh," he replied, not really sure what to say next. Then he turned to Sabo, who was giving him a slight smile. "Why do you wanna be a pirate?" Luffy asked nervously, wondering if that was a personal question.

"Easy! I want to be free and go on adventures. Plus, writing a book about them would make me happy. Ace wants adventure and freedom, too. Not just to kill Whitebeard. Right, Ace?" Ace nodded his head silently. "What do you wanna do when you get back home?" Sabo asked pleasantly. "You don't have to go into detail," he added when Luffy's eyes flicked to Ace.

"I-I don't know yet," Luffy replied, feeling like it was a stupid response.

"Well, you're just a kid. How old are you anyways?" Sabo questioned. Luffy replied that he was seven. Ace's eyebrows raised; Luffy looked younger than seven. He was pretty short and his oversized hat didn't make him look any bigger.

"Do you wanna go hunting with us?" Sabo asked. Luffy looked to Ace, who made no move to say no.

"Um, okay," Luffy said shyly. "I don't have any weapons," he added. He wondered if they'd think he was useless. But, at least he wouldn't get in the way since the animals didn't hurt him. They'd never tried, and the largest animals, tigers and bears, still bowed to him, while the wolves and the other smaller beasts ignored his presence, barely giving him a glance.

"Just don't get in our way and it'll be fine," Ace said shortly, but didn't really seem trying to be mean, though Luffy flushed again. He nodded and followed behind the two older boys, looking around to see if there were any big animals anywhere near them.

He recognized the path they were heading towards. The crocodile pond. They were halfway there when the Bear King appeared. Ace and Sabo got in defensive positions, but it stared at them for a moment before making eye contact with the littlest and bowed. He gave the other two second glances, but then turned and lumbered away.

The boys had seen this happen before, but it was slightly amazing at the same time unnerving. Usually, the Bear King was extremely violent without being provoked and most of the time Ace and Sabo had to run or climb up the nearest large tree.

The two older children turned to look at Luffy. Sabo didn't look too shocked, since he had a feeling he knew why the animals don't attack, but Ace was still in the dark. He glanced to Sabo, and frowned. The blonde clearly had learned much about Luffy when they talked.

Neither explained what happened, and Ace knew they wouldn't tell him, so there was no point in asking. Though it was convenient that they werent attacked. No other animals passed them, besides deer that ran too fast to catch at the moment.

Plus, each of them liked crocodile meat the most. So, they made it to the pond that had most of the fruit, seeming to never run out. Luffy stayed a safe distance away, not wanting the reptiles to know he was there in case they grew angry that he wasn't stopping the boys from hunting them.

Luffy watched as they fought in the water, knocking the crocodile the furthest from the group out, and dragging it back out of the water quickly. The carried it above their heads and fled the scene so the others didn't follow. They rarely did, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Luffy ran after them, trying to keep up, before they entered a clearing that had clearly been used to cook before, as there was already a little campfire and some logs around it. There was a massive cooking contraption that was a horizontal stick held up by two vertical ones at the ends. The two were able to skewer the crocodile and cook it whole.

It took awhile to cook, and the three didn't talk much, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable, even for Luffy. The other two were surprised with how much Luffy could eat. Ace had never noticed because Luffy was rarely at dinner and wasn't able to get his own chunks of meat in the first place. He must have been ungodly hungry all the time. Besides eating fruits.

It was only lunch, so the rest of the day was spent exploring, and Luffy being introduced to Sabo's "home" and that if he needed something in the middle of the night, then he knew where to go. After all, going out at night was perfectly safe for him, besides accidentally falling in the dark or something.

Luffy also discreetly would hang back a little bit to call for Zoro or Sanji, but got nothing. And even when they made it to dinner, his best friends never came. It made sleeping that night difficult, though the promise of being welcome to see Ace and Sabo the next day made the night only a little easier. A distraction all day would be good. Hopefully.

-x-

Luffy was welcomed to be the older boys' friend, and was allowed to hang out and spend time with them every day. It was getting a little better with having people who cared in this world where others expected him to be a different Luffy.

But what was worse was that almost drowned out the gratefulness of having friends in this world was that Zoro and Sanji, or even the other two friends who didn't like visiting new worlds, never answered.

In the three weeks since the last time he'd seen Zoro and Sanji, they didn't respond in anyway. No voice or even a little shadow. Luffy still stayed at the house at night and stayed there when he wasn't feeling up to socializing. When those days came along, Sabo would come see if he was okay, and play some games with the boy, until Ace finally came and they all spent time there together.

It was especially nice when it was too hot outside to do much exploring. Ace was still in the dark about Luffy's situation, and Sabo did a good job keeping the secret. Luffy just didn't trust Ace to not think he was crazy. It was a miracle that Sabo believed him at all. He really liked Sabo, and wished he could take him home with him.

Though, with no one coming for him, Luffy had a little seed of doubt in his heart that was slowly growing bigger and bigger. And with that seed, being alone was more painful, but he just didn't have the energy to be around others sometimes.

Sabo understood completely when Luffy truly wanted to be alone sometimes, for he really did know how the younger boy felt. He never thought having been depressed would be a good thing eventually. Ace didn't know how to have tact or handle any mental issues, so he really said nothing about any of it, which Luffy was thankful for.

More than once, when Luffy truly didn't want to be alone, the two boys had had a sleepover with him. Sabo had taken he master bedroom while Ace took the couch. Sabo would read to Luffy sometimes, since the house had books. For Sabo, and even Ace, helping Luffy out felt like taking care of a little brother, despite only knowing him for a couple weeks.

Ace had acted like the first couple of weeks of knowing Luffy wasn't him bullying the younger boy. And after witnessing first hand Luffy's depression and social-awkwardness, he felt something he hadnt felt in a while. Guilt and disappointment in himself. He hadn't officially and deeply apologized, but just tried to move on from it and change that first impression into something better.

* * *

**Ace finally gets it! Little brat, but don't worry, we still love (miss) you. Next chapter is the last one! Garp bashing to the MAXIMUM next chapter.**


	5. You Found Me!

**Well, this is the last chapter. It was a short fic. Like I said in the previous chapter, this one has a lot of Garp bashing. A LOT, a lot. I don't hate Garp as a cannon character (I love him when he disses Stelly and the Celestial Dragons in reverie), even though his child raising techniques aren't good, but it's just how I wrote the story. Enjoy~**

**update: I realized I had messed up the chapters, but I've fixed it.**

* * *

A hard knock was made on the bandits' hut's front door, before it was slammed open since it had a very flimsy lock. Everyone was startled as the old man slammed the door open, all eating dinner so some of them choked. Ace looked up at the man in fear. Not fear for him for once, but for Luffy. They boy had expressed how Garp's beating had hurt and made him even more upset and useless feeling.

Being beaten by a family member, even after begging him to stop didn't really sound like he cared for him. And then Garp had taken him away from the people that were doing their best to help treat Luffy's depression and self-worth problems.

Plus, Garp had told Luffy he'd beat Luffy to make him sane again. How it must have hurt to have his temporary only family member tell him outright that he was insane. It was cruel.

And Luffy wasn't here. He'd disobeyed Garp, and went back to the village to sleep every night and spend time with the boys when he couldn't handle going outside. Ace pretended he had to go to the bathroom, but climbed out of the window and bolted across the front hard and to the trail to go warn Luffy. But he heard Garp ask where Luffy was.

And Dadan answered honestly, no matter how scared she was of Garp's reaction. Ace could practically feel the scowl the man made. He must think Luffy was weak to go back home. Ace was running as fast as he could, but suddenly Garp was right behind him, and grabbed the ten year old by the scruff of his shirt, slightly pulling on the longer black hair.

"Where are you going, Ace? Don't you want to greet your grandpa! Bwahaha!" the man boomed.

"I'm going to see my friend. He lives in the forest," Ace lied quickly, though his voice was steady. "We usually hang out after dinner. Now let me go!" The boy struggled as he was lifted higher.

"Don't you lie to me!" and he punched him on the head hard enough to knock him out. "Oops. I didn't mean to punch that hard. Gotta save it for my other grandson! I'll make him into a good marine; you'll see," Garp finished and dropped Ace to the ground, though not harshly.

He continued down the trail to Foosha, and walked around the field that he saw had flattened wheat from where people must have walked through, which lead to the house. No doubt these were Luffy's tracks, probably Ace's too, and his friend if the freckled child had been telling the truth.

All of the lights were off but one that he could barely see between all the heavy curtains blocking each window. The front door was locked, so he easily broke it with his big hands and opened the door.

He found Luffy laying on his stomach in the living room, drawing on a blank piece of paper with a green crayon. Luffy was so absorbed in his drawing that he didn't know Garp was behind him until he was  _right_ behind him. Garp saw Luffy writing some strange symbols on the paper above a green monster, but thought nothing of it.

"So. Luffy, you've been living here?" Garp asked coldly, a disappointed look on his face and in his voice. Luffy turned over and gasped, stumbling to his feet, his face showing absolute terror. He picked up a vase on the end table next to him and threw it at the nearest window that was away from Garp, and then climbed out, barefoot and scraping his fingers on the glass, sprinting away from the man.

But he didn't get far before he was grabbed by the scruff like Ace had. But Luffy lifted his arms up and slid out of the shirt. The marine was too fast and grabbed Luffy by gripping his small arm in the man's big hands.

"Let me go!" Luffy cried struggling in Garp's grip.

"Why aren't you at the bandits'?! You don't disobey your grandpa!" Garp said angrily. Luffy had never disobeyed him like this. Luffy grew angry, and kicked his feet backwards, trying to hit him somewhere.

"You're not my grandpa! What kind of grandpa beats their grandchild when he's mentally unstable! You don't care about your grandson at all! You're a  _horrible_ grandpa, and  _let me go!_ " Luffy screeched. Garp looked hurt behind him, but didn't let go, just gripped a small bit less tightly.

"I do what I do  _for you!_ " Garp replied in an angry voice, but surprised, since Luffy had never back talked like this to him. But, this Luffy had no fond memories of the man. All the memories he had of Garp was him beating Luffy and calling him insane and taking him from the person trying to help him the most.

"I  _hate you!_ You're the worst grandpa in the world! You called me insane! Then you dumped me at a place where no one cared if I slept outside, or got eaten in the forest a night! And what kind of grandpa leaves his kid alone for years, just dumping him on other people?!" Luffy raved. He was finally let go, though it was more like throwing him forwards. Then Luffy screamed bloody murder.

The backyards' grass had grown too tall since no one tended to it, and tools were scattered all over the place. Luffy never knew who had ever used them. But he had always been able to walk around the tools, since he left the house in the morning and evening and could see them. But it was dark out.

He fell on the rake that rested upwards. Well, he didn't fall, he landed after being thrown. It had stabbed him in the stomach, and Luffy moaned in pain. He hadnt felt pain like this ever before. He'd never been stabbed anywhere. Blood dribbled out of his mouth, and he pulled himself up out of sheer will and hate of the man behind him. Luffy would be fine.

He was sure the guy at the bandits' hut could help him, like he had with Ace. And speak of the devil, Ace came running up, his head throbbing still from the "fist of love".

"LUFFY!" he screamed, seeing him bleeding in the moonlight, with Garp behind him. He turned Luffy over to see six puncture wounds that were bleeding heavily. "No, no, you'll be okay. We gotta get you to Magra," Ace said, ignoring Garp, who was shocked and horrified, and picked Luffy up.

"Wait! There's a small hospital here!" Garp yelled as he followed the boys. "Luffy!" The boy looked over Ace's shoulder, and glared at him with hate, the blood falling out of his mouth. But he couldn't make it to the forest before there was a massive tearing sound, like the sound of a zipper.

The three all looked up to see a section of the sky had no stars in it. It had light coming out, as bright as sunlight. It was very high up, and very long. Cracks formed around it, like the sky was breaking apart.

Then something massive fell out and landed on the empty house, crushing it to nothing. It groaned, and shakily stood up. It looked like a green dragon. A huge one, one that was taller than the two story house.

"Drop him!" it roared at Ace. But the boy help Luffy tighter, not wanting to surrender him to the monster.

"Z-ZORO!" Luffy screamed, blood flying from his mouth. "Zoro, help me! Ace, let me go! Let me down!" Luffy cried, sounding as if he wasn't in pain anymore, but only focused on the monster in front of him.

Ace let Luffy go, setting him on the ground, as the boy wobbled forwards. "T-Take me home! Zoro, take me home!" Luffy sobbed, stumbling forwards until Zoro reached him with half a step. Ace stumbled backwards, and fell on his butt in the long grass. Garp just looked stunned, and even angry that this monster was going to try and get his grandson.

"Let's go then," Zoro said with a grin, and grabbed Luffy gently. When they touched, the two Luffy's separated as one fell to the ground, limp, while the other was grasped in Zoro's hand. The Luffy laying on the ground had no wound, while the Luffy in Zoro's hand was still bleeding heavily.

"You'll be fine, I'll get you to Chopper," Zoro said, flying upwards.

"A-ACE! THANK YOU! TELL S-SABO, TOO!" The straw hat he never deserved was waiting in the house, amazingly not destroyed, just half smooshed under an end table.

"Luffy! Where are you going?!" Ace called. He stared back and forth at both Luffy's, thoroughly confused. Then Sabo made it to the edge of the forest, seeing the green dragon lifting Luffy's small body up into the air. He couldn't help but shed some tears for Luffy. He was finally going home.

He was a bit sad that he didn't get to say goodbye, but he was happy for the boy. So happy.

Luffy was almost into the portal when he saw the body he'd invaded sit up, perfectly fine. "Man, that was a good nap! What the- where am I? The hell? Grandpa? What- what? Hmm… Wow! A mystery hole! And a dragon! Hey come back! I wanna ride you!" the other Luffy called. He barely heard his counterpart apologize, but didn't know for what.

Garp was looking shocked and absolutely dumbfounded, confused, and irritated.

Luffy still bled as Zoro flew them through six portals, all through worlds Luffy had never seen, going from one world to another through unfamiliar portals. He was finally going home. Zoro was flying as fast as he could despite the burns shown on his side.

"I'm sorry me or Sanji haven't come in awhile!" Zoro shouted over the rush of wind from their speed. "We both got burned badly in one of the worlds," he explained. Luffy asked, through labored and short breaths, how he found him right on time.

"I have no answer for that. Just, suddenly I was almost in a portal in the seventh world when another one cracked open and I heard you scream through it. Saw you bleeding in that stupid Ace's arms. I wish I could go back and kill him!" Zoro raged. Luffy chuckled through his quick breathing.

"Ace was my friend now. It- It was th-that Luffy's grandpa that made me fall on the rake. I hate him," Luffy said quietly before he finally fell unconscious. But, they were finally there. Luffy was back home.

Zoro sped them to the physician area of the manor's property, banging the door open with his snout and shouting to Chopper what happened to Luffy and to fix him. Chopper was instantly in doctor-mode, so didn't have a chance to cry about how happy was Luffy was finally back.

The medicine in this world was so much more sophisticated and successful than the human world Luffy was glad to be free from, though he'd miss Ace and Sabo. But, he had his family and friends back.

Chopper injected the edge of the wound with the numbing medicine before he ran the cotton ball of the thick blue liquid that easily sealed the wounds, though Luffy was in bad shape from blood loss.

Since Luffy originally had different blood from everyone in this world, as a baby they'd been able to change the composition of it by the injecting other, most common blood type into him. It was extremely risky and Luffy could have been severely sick from it, even though they could keep him from dying.

But it had been successful, not that they ever needed that before now. Luffy was unconscious for many hours, but woke up delirious and thinking he was still in the human world. But, when he saw his crowd of colorful friends around him, along with his adoptive mother, he knew he was finally home.

He cried harder than he ever had, even harder than he had while horribly miserable and alone in the cursed human world.

Once he felt better, he told his friends and family all about the human world, trying to leave out the majority of how terribly depressed he'd been. He really thought about writing a book when he was older. He was sure others would enjoy it since none of them could reach that world to see. Well, not safely.

They were convinced that that world could be damaged by the forced and unnatural portal Zoro had used. It just wasn't worth it to them, and to Luffy. He vowed to never go near the lake again, even if he was harnessed to a tree with a metal cable so he couldn't fall in. The risk wasn't worth it. Plus, there were other places he could visit. He'd grown fond of the nature in the human world.

It had been an adventure, but one he wouldn't want to repeat. He was home, and would stay home, no matter what.

-x-

Sabo sat in the circle of him, Ace, Garp and this world's Luffy. "How much do you remember of the last couple months, Luffy?" Sabo asked seriously. Luffy cocked his head.

"Months?! I've been asleep for months?! Really?" Luffy replied. Ace and Sabo were frowning. They'd miss their Luffy. But, maybe this one could fill the void. He seemed like a bit of an idiot, but might be entertaining, and they'd have to take care of him in a different way than their Luffy who was gone for forever.

Sabo had filled all of them in about Luffy's story, and this Luffy had been shocked that his body had been taken over by another version of himself. But, what he was most upset with was that he didn't get to see Shanks off or remember any of the last couple months. Maybe then he could have seen the monsters and Zoro's form that no one else could see.

Garp was relieved. Not just because Luffy was perfectly fine, but that those harsh words had not come from his true grandson. But, after hearing the other Luffy's story, he couldn't bring himself to hate the kid. But, he'd be better with his Luffy. He never wanted to hear that he hated him ever again.

"Maybe you'll remember some day," Ace said. He and Sabo were surprised that this Luffy didn't care one bit that his body had been taken over without permission, but at least he didn't have a bad time. He wasn't awake and unable to control his body. It was a small blessing that he'd been "asleep" for all that time.

And Luffy lamented that his house had been destroyed. Sabo had fished out the hat, and given it to Luffy to return to Shanks one day. But, Luffy vowed he'd write Shanks a letter and tell him what had happened at the end of his time at Foosha.

And Sabo wanted to thank him for trying his best to help Luffy out of his depression. Ace still glared at Garp almost the whole time. Garp felt uncomfortable under it. "I won't forgive you for hurting mine and Sabo's Luffy. Not just by getting his stabbed by a rake, but what you did to him that affected his mental health so much."

Sabo sighed. Ace had done a pretty bad thing, too, but at least he'd made up for it.

"Well, it's all over now right? At least I got to see the dragon!" Luffy said optimistically. Ace grumbled about it, still not happy with the horrible scars he had on his arm now.

"I kinda hope I get to meet him some time! But, when he's happy and not super sad like you said he was. So many mysteries! Where did he come from originally? He said he was found in a lake as a baby! And why did he take over my body? Why wasn't there just two Luffy's? Man, this is so cool!"

"Actually, it really is," Sabo said. Ace agreed. "It's nice to meet you, Luffy. You're extremely different than ours, but I'm sure we can all be friends. But, you can't go in the forest by yourself. You aren't king of the beasts anymore."

"Yeah, that sucks. I hope we can be friends, too!"

After the whole incident was resolved, Garp changed his ways. Hearing the words the other Luffy said made him rethink things. He'd still "train" Luffy, but wouldn't just beat him to a pulp. And, he would visit more often when he could, even if Luffy was going back to the bandits since his home was completely destroyed. They wouldn't tell any of them the story, but Ace vowed to be nicer to this Luffy than he was to the first.

Everyone involved would always remember what happened, in a good way, even though most of the other Luffy's time here had been miserable. Those in the human world hoped he'd made it home safely.

~The end~

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**Hope you enjoyed the story! Thanks for those who kept up with it and reviewed a lot!**


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